You Told Me To Have Hope
by outlawqueen16
Summary: Snow told her to have hope, that she has a chance at grace. It doesn't feel that way when her Robin sacrifices himself for her by getting struck by the Olympian Crystal. sometimes things or who aren't as they seem,especially when it involves being soulmates. What does it mean to truly accept yourself?what does it mean to be a soul mate? fix it fic.bc so much missed potential.
1. Chapter 1:You Told Me To Have Hope

AN: My Take on what could be going on with these rumors. Very angsty in the beginning sry! But stick with me on this one. I should def finish writing this one. My other fic, Twisted Fate, I kind of lost inspiration for after I was disappointed with 5A as a whole. I can not promise how often I will update, due to life and work, but I will try. Enjoy.

Chapter 1- You Told Me To Have Hope

Numb, that's how she feels as she stares into her glass of whiskey, sitting alone in a booth at grannies, where everyone had gathered after the funeral. Meer hours ago, she watched as the casket was lowered into the dank ground in remembrance of her soul mate. Regina could barely remember pouring dirt over the grave or the speeches made by the other heroes about how noble of a life Robin of Locksley have lived.

Indeed noble and honorable as he has sacrificed himself for her and his daughter. After returning from the Underworld, they chased after Hades to save his daughter from the Underworld God's clutches.

On their encounter in her office, She watched as Robin, without hesitation, jumped in front of the bolt of lightning that was meant for her. His body slumped to the ground as his soul turned to her shaking form, trying to reach out to her. Even in death, he was trying to comfort her. He looked towards her as if trying to say everything will be OK before his soul disappeared into thin air, as if he never existed. That is what Hades said, But Hades Lies.

This wasn't how it was suppose to be. They were supposed to finally be able to just be together and to feel completely at home in the world with their family. After all they had been through and now they were torn apart again, by death. A stubborn tear escaped and threatened to fall into her Whiskey when she felt a hand on hers, pulling her out of reverie.

"Regina…" She looked up to find an empathetic Snow as she whiped that errant, little tear away. _You can't show weakness._

"we are all worried, you haven't said much since this happened."

"What's there to say?"

Snow squeezed her hand as she replied, "So much…you just lost…"

Regina cut her off, choking on her words and squeezing her eyes shut as she looked down at the table, "just lost someone I love again! I feel like half of my soul was ripped away."

"Oh Regina, I'm so so sorry. I desperately wish we could change this for you. Know that your family is here for you and don't push us away. You aren't alone this time."

Looking up, Regina replies solemnly. "You told me to have hope. That if I kept doing the right thing, I would have a chance at grace."

"You still can, you did, and you have."

"I can't do this. I need to go." Regina replies as she shakes her head and gets up to leave, on the verge of tears again.

Snow reaches to keep her from leaving, but Regina shrugs her off, swings her purse over shoulder, and makes her way towards the door. Henry sees her leaving and jumps off his stool to follow his mother with Snow right on his tail. A resounding Mom and Regina heard at the same time to keep her from fleeing.

"LET HER GO."

This stops them in their tracks and they turn to find the source of the booming voice to belong to the dragon. Maleficent was standing there, watching the scene from the back door.

"Give Regina her space." Maleficent says coolly.

"She shouldn't be alone in a time like this. I've seen her in this place before and I don't want to see her..." snow tapered off her sentence, as she didn't want to finish it.

"turn evil again?" Maleficent concluded her thoughts for her. A small,sad nod of the Snow's head was the only reply

"You forget I knew her then too. I was there more for her than any of you know. She needs a little space right now. She will need something safe and familiar soon. Let me go after her in a little while."

"You PROMISE you will take care of her?" Henry questions with suspicion and want to protect his mother at a time like this..

"I promise I will take care of my little dove." Maleficent replies to Regina's son, not bothering to see the wondering looks from the others as to what she just called Regina.

Regina walks as rapidly as her heeled boots will let her away from grannies, down Main Street, and towards the woods. She needs a way to dull the pain that seemed to reside within her soul and help her forget that she lost someone she loves again.

The forest trail was dank and soft thanks to the pouring rain that had been falling all day. How stereotypical that it pours on the day she buries her soul mate. At least symbolically, his body was taken away through the portal. Now it had slowed to a soft mist, making her hair start to curl at the ends as she walked.

Mother had hated her curls, always making her straighten then. Robin had loved them and couldn't help but run his fingers through them when he first saw it. It was one of the first nights he and Roland had stayed at the house after getting home from Camelot. After stepping out of the shower, she had forgone blow drying her hair and let it air dry. He was mesmerized and couldn't keep his hands off of it.

Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't realized she made it to the driveway of her destination, the very same drive way she had met him here in Storybrooke. Taking a deep breath, she continued and knocked on the door to the cottage, waiting for her to come to the door.

The door opens to a shocked Zelena answers. "Sis…what do I owe the pleasure?" She says sarcastically.

 _Old habits die hard,_ Regina thinks as she replies with an eye roll. "I came to look for something. It should be on your shelves in the kitchen. Mind if I take a look?"

"No, go right ahead." Zelena replies as she moves aside, lets Regina in, and follows her to the kitchen. "For what it's worth Regina, I am sorry what happened to Robin. After all, he was my child's father." She states matter of factly as she sits at the kitchen table, looking at the back of sister.

Regina was looking through the kitchen shelves when Zelena made this comment and with the comment she turns around and snaps at Zelena, "I don't need your sympathy and after all you did to him, you don't deserve to say his name."

Regina turns around and spots what she was looking for on the second shelf in the very left hand corner as Zelena replies. "You're right, I don't deserve to after what I did. I was just trying to give my condolences."

Fighting back the tears, Regina turns to leave with a small bottle in hand, but not before Zelena sees what it is.

"That's what you came here for, a crappy bottle of whiskey?" Zelena questions her sibling.

"Yes." Regina says solemnly, her face softening as she looks down at the mostly full bottle.

"Is there something special about it?"

"That is none of your business." Regina huffs looking back up to her sister, exacerbated and not wanting to explain herself.

Zelena rolls her eyes, crosses her legs, and then remarks back, "you know there are better ways to handle this than getting drunk."

"I didn't ask for your advice!" Regina retorts back as she passes her sister without making eye contact, and leaves the way she came to make her way across to the other end of the woods.

Her mother would tell her sitting with her knees in the mud was not very lady like, but she didn't care about being lady like right now. Not when her knees were in the mud of the soil that covered her soul mate's grave, so new that no grass could be seen, unlike the other graves that were covered by the prickliness of the green substance.

As she sat there and stared at the tombstone, with his name engraved smoothly on it, she unscrewed the top to the alcohol, brought it to her lips, and took a long few gulps without looking away. She swallowed and enjoyed the burn of the cheap whiskey down her throat. It was a pain that didn't involve her heart and soul.

"God this is terrible, cheap whiskey." She says to the tombstone,as if having a conversation with it, taking another drink before she continues.

Clearly becoming emotional, she sasses out, "You were suppose to drink this with me ya know. We were supposed to do so many things together. You had promised me." Another long pull on the bottle was taken.

"You promised me we would be a family! You said we would grow old together and watch our children grow up!

Another drink with tears starting to spring free.

"You agreed that you never wanted to be apart again and that you wanted to move into the mansion with our boys and Ellie."

Another drink with tears steadily falling, creating tracks with her mascara smudging.

"We were going to make the room next to ours a nursery and paint it yellow because Ellie was our little ray of sunshine out of terrible situation. We were going to redo the spare room for Roland that is next to henrys. We were supposed to paint it green with a forest theme so he could feel at home. He would even have a little tent with a sleeping bag if he couldn't sleep in the bed some nights"

Another sip and close to full on sobbing now.

"You had promised to hold and kiss me every night before we went to bed. That you only ever wanted to make love with ME for the rest of our lives and that you would be there every morning I opened my eyes."

Another sip that she almost choked on because she was so upset now, she was having trouble breathing. Using her sleeve, she whipped away the alcoholic remnants that were dripping down her chin before she gulped, squeezed her eyes shut, and continued. stare

"You h-had s-said that y-you w-w-wa-wanted t-to M-Marry me…t-t-to show me what marriage was really suppose to be. That it wasn't a king parading his wife around like a trophy or taking what he thought was his."

Another long gulp and the damn whiskey was gone. Quite intoxicated, she stared at the empty bottle, tears running like a river down her cheeks with heavy breaths. Looking up at the stone with his name, she had not only sadness but fury in her eyes too.

"YOU HAD SAID THAT YOUR HONOR LIED WITH ME NOW, WHERE IT ALWAYS SHOULD HAVE BEEN. YOU HAD PROMISED TO NEVER LEAVE ME AGAIN!" She screeched as she threw the bottle at the gravestone and it shattered into a thousand pieces, just like her heart and soul.

Fists begin to pound faster and faster at the mud in front of his grave, dotting her face the substance as she screams and sobs at the same time, "I HATE YOU ROBIN HOOD! I HATE YOU ROBIN OF LOCKSLEY. I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! YOU PROMISED!"

She crumbles to the ground, in the mud, a blubbering mess and wraps her arms around herself whispering, "I love you…I love you so much Robin of Locksley. Why did you leave me again?" before she passes out on the cold, muddy ground. Not very lady like.

Maleficent kept her word and tracked her to the graveyard, finding her passed out in front of her lover's burial spot. Approaching her with light steps, she gently tried to wake her with no results. Her skin was cold and wet to the touch, hair drenched, face covered in mud with tear tracks, and clothes soggy from the mist in the air.

How stupid can the girl be for falling asleep out here!? She could catch hypothermia! Taking her coat off, Maleficent covered Regina as she looked towards the grave and saw the pieces of glass scattered in front of the grave. That and the smell on Regina's breath told the dragon she had passed out and not fallen asleep.

She pushed the coat tighter around her shoulders and tucked the lose hair from her updo behind her ears when she heard Regina murmur with her eyes still closed. "He's gone Mal. He's gone for good for this time and never coming back."

Taking Regina's head into her lap, Mal sighs and her stomach twists for this woman who has endured so much. "I know my little dove. But you aren't alone this time my little bird. You have your son, Ellie, Emma, the Pirate, and, HELL, even the un-charmings. Don't forget, you will always have me. Now, let's get you home, dried off, and warmed up little one."

"No!" Regina says quickly. "I can't go back there. Henry can't see like this. I can't sleep in that bed. Not when it still smells like him. Like forest."

Hugging Regina's head to her stomach, Mal says, "ok. Then you'll come home with me" Before she poufs them both to her home.

Don't kill me! *hides face*


	2. Chapter 2: Little Dove

Thanks for all the reviews and faves/follows. For the guest review, if you don't like outlaw queen, this is probably not going to be the fic for you.

No Beta. Please ignore the writing mistakes. I am no professional writer.

Chapter 2-Little Dove

After Maleficent had poofed them back to the room she was staying in at grannies, she lead Regina to the attached, private bathroom. Without a word, she sat her down on the edge of the white, porcelain and proceeded to fill the tub with scalding hot water, adding a little calming lavender bath soap.

Waiting for the tub to fill, she looks at the blank, sad stare in Regina's eyes, with a solitary tear tumbling down her cheek and wishes she could take her pain away. To wash away the dirt, and may be some of the pain as well, Maleficent slips the two coats off Regina's shoulders, unzips and removes her heeled boots, and leaves the bathroom for just a moment of dispose the clothing in the hamper.

Returning to the bathroom, Maleficent turns off the faucet and guides Regina, who still holds the same blank stare, to her feet. Reaching behind her to the zip of her dress, Maleficent searches out Regina eyes, and wordlessly asks the queen if she can undress her. With a shaky breath, Regina simply nods.

Slowly, Maleficent slides the zip down, frees the dress form Regina's shoulders, and lets the black, muddied funeral dress fall to the floor. With a shiver, Goosebumps arise on Regina's skin at the loss of the warmth from the clothes. Before further undressing her, Maleficent rubs her hands up and down Regina's arms for warmth and then continues to her back to unclasp her bra, letting it fall to the floor. Blush arises on Regina's cheek.

"None of that little dove. Nothing I haven't seen before." Maleficent grins before she softly pecks the tip of her nose and kneels to continue undressing her, bringing her tights down and helping her to step out of them . Looking up from her kneeled position on the ground, Maleficent meets Regina's eyes that are staring down at her, smiles, softly kisses her stomach right below her belly button, and lowers her underwear, tossing it with the other clothing.

After rising from her crouched position, Maleficent gently leads Regina to step into the tub and guides her into the calming , tepid water. Immediately, Regina brings her knees to her chest and rests her crossed arms upon them in an effort to comfort her self as she silently observes Mal grabbing the sponge, wetting it, and adding a good dollop of soap. Resting the side of her head on her arms, Regina leans forward as she allows Mal to scrub and rinse her back. When Mal finishes that, she has Regina lie back into the water and proceeds to soap her neck and chest, her breasts, then down to her stomach, followed by her privates, and finishes with her legs.

As Mal rinses Regina, she looks at her and mocks, "You got your hair and face all caked with mud little dove, we can't have that now can we, your majesty?" Regina smirks at her before she continues, " And don't worry, I too have come to love the expensive face and hair care products of this world. I feel younger already."

An actual half of laugh leaves Regina's lips and Mal feels like she has won already. Then she washes the mud off of her face and out of her hair before conditioning her dark locks, giving her one final rinse, and helping her to stand from the tub to wrap a warm, fluffy towel that Regina clutches to herself.

Taking her by the hand, Mal leads her to the living space and has her sit on the bed to brush out and then simply braid her hair. She goes to her drawers and returns to help Regina dress into a pair of purple plaid sleep shorts and a matching purple tank top.

Mal slinks behind her to the bathroom again and comes back with a glass of water and aspirin in hand.

"Drink this and take these or you will regret in the morning." Mal told her with a knowing smirk and raised eyebrow, not really giving Regina much of a choice.

Regina nods and as she pops the tabs into her mouth and gulps down the water, not realizing how thirsty she was,as Mal turns the bed down for her.

"come on little dove, lets get you tucked into bed." Mal said lightly padding the pillow.

Without argument, Regina crawls to the head of the bed and snuggles herself under the covers before she breaks her silence. "Why do you call me that?"

Maleficent tilts her head in confusion. "Call you what Little Dove?"

"That…after all these years, I have never asked" Regina questions.

"Birds are often a sign of freedom. Doves themselves have many symbols—love and peace just to name a few. They are portrayed as white and gentle, sweet, and loving…said to be so pure that they are the one form Satan himself can not transform into. Doves are said to represent life after a storm. But most of all, Doves are monogamous animals, said to love so deeply, they love with their whole soul. These are all things I see when I look at you."

"The last thing I am is pure Mal." Regina scoffed.

"Maybe not in the traditional sense but you endured and fought your way out of the darkness because deep down into your soul, the darkness could not reach and destroy who you really are." Mal squeezed her hand as she watched Regina bring the back of her hand to her mouth and yawn.

"Come on lets get you to bed." Mal commanded as Regina nodded with sleepy eyes as she laid her head against the pillow.

Getting up, Mal went to go get changed when she heard Regina mumble, "How am I going to get through thisMal…and not turn evil again?"

Mal turned and leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead as she said, "You aren't alone this time. You aren't playing step mother to a girl who you blamed for your Love's death. Your light is not be smothered by a selfish King who only took what he felt was his, used you a trophy to have on his arm, and was so unaware of how unhappy you were to marry him in the first place. You have your son, family, and friends to support you. That is how you are going to make it through this."

Regina squeezed her hand, "Thank you Mal."

"No need to thank me. Now Get to sleep, you are going to have one hell of a headache come morning. You drank like a fish."

Regina chuckles, "Good night, Mal."

"Good night my little dove." Mal whispered before she kissed Regina, once again, on the forehead, allowing her to only have good dreams.

Twelve hours later, a particularly throbbing headache and strong beam of sunshine that made its way through Granny's cheap blinds woke Regina up. With scrunched eyebrows, she groaned and rolled over on her other side to avoid the annoying brightness. Her reprieve would not be granted for long when Mal came in and, what seemed like to her, slammed the door shut with a granny's to go bag in her hand.

"Did you have to slam the door shut so loudly? My head feels like it's going to explode thank you very much." Regina moans while she roles on her stomach and covers her head with the pillow.

"Well whose fault was that?" Mal retorts back while crooking her head to the side and slipping her one hand not holding the bag into her trouser pockets.

Peaking from under her pillow, looking towards Mal, Regina replied matter of factly "I needed something to the numb pain."

Mal sighed and made her way over and sat down on the bed. "did it help?" She asks with a raised eyebrow?

Hiding her head underneath the pillow again, Regina mumbles a quiet "No."

Holding up the bag up towards Regina , Mal questions "Maybe this will?"

As Regina peaks again and turns to sit up on her elbows and looks towards the bag, she inquires, "What's that?"

"A little comfort food always helps. Share a double stack of Apple pancakes?" Mal wags her eyebrows at Regina.

"A dragon going after my heart through my stomach with one of my favorite foods?" Regina tries with a heavy heart.

Mal smiles gently in return as she takes her hand and squeezes. "Some thief already stole your heart and now it's broken with loss. I and everyone else who loves you can only try to mend the pieces back together."

As Regina squeezes her hand back, she tries to fane a smile back as she responds with a nod, "Then let's eat."

Without much conversation, they devour the pancakes while fighting over the sweetened apple pieces and whip cream on top when there is a knock on the door. Mal sighs and rises to answer the door, slinking over in a way only a dragon could. On the other side lies Emma Swan, who shoots past Maleficent once she sees Regina there. "Yes please come in, Swan." Mal sighs with a roll of her eyes.

Short of breath, Emma walks to stand in front of Regina. "Thank God I finally found you! I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Well you found me. Now spit it out Emma, what do you want?"

"The people from Camelot are going back to the Enchanted Forest. With the apprentice's wand, we can use the door to open a portal. You or Zelena could do it."

"Well have Zelena take care of it. I don't want to get involved nor does it really involve me to begin with." Regina breathed with a huff. As she fell back in the pillow, crossing her arms in the process.

"That's not why I am here." Emma replied back.

"Then why are you here?" Regina says curtly, clearly getting annoyed.

Emma takes a deep breath before she meets Regina eyes, not prepared for the devastated look on the Queen's face. "The Merry Men are going too and they are taking Roland with them."

AN: Don't hate me. Stick with me here, it will be worth it. There's just some darkness before the sunrise. reviews—good, bad, or in between are always appreciated. Makes me want to write quicker .


	3. Chapter 3: Temporary Goodbye

Chapter 3:Temporary Goodbye

 _AN:This fic has taken a complete turn from what I had planned from the beginning,especially after doing a rewatch of the finale today. Sry for the lack of updates, Robin's death has really shaken me about the show and I lost some inspiration to write this. But I had a thought after my re watch and now this has basically written itself. Just a note that it has been edited in chapter 1, robin died as in canon by the crystal and not the fury for those that had already read prior._

 _This is my fix it look at what you are missing out on writers fic. Hope you enjoy and please leave some feedback—good,constructive, or bad. this one has dimples queen feels._

Regina shot up into a sitting position, eyes wide at Emma, "What do you mean?"

Trying to be delicate, Emma said calmly, "What I mean is exactly what I said, The Merry Men are bringing Roland back to the Enchanted Forest—to Sherwood."

"Over my dead body!" Regina cuts off as she throws the comforter off her and gets out of bed. "Where are they?"

"last I left, they were on Main Street and Zelena was going to open the portal."

With a wave of her hand, Regina dresses herself in her high boots and stockings, leather pencil skirt, red sleeveless shirt, and black jean jacket.

She looks to Mal and Emma, "If you'll excuse me, I must stop the merry bunch of idiots from taking my little knight away." She states with a scowl and then proceeds to poof herself to Main Street.

Ujust 50 Yards away, the portal has been made via a doorway and she sees Tuck and Little john about to go through the doorway with Roland. Tears sprung to her eyes as she realized they almost left without even a goodbye. She couldn't lose him completely too, not after Robin.

Running as much she as she can in her heeled boots towards them she screamed,"STOP!" So loud it ricocheted off the buildings.

Halting , the group turned immediately towards the booming voice and watched as Regina made their way towards them. Seeing Regina, Roland left Little John's arms and raced towards to meet her half way into a crushing hug

"Gina!" Roland yelled as she picked him up and he swung his legs around her hips, arms around her neck, and snuggled into her.

"Hello my Little Knight." She whispered into his ear and gave him a light peck on his cheek, as she walked the final steps to the brood. "Where are you off to? Hopefully just on a field trip?" She questions glaring over Roland's shoulder towards Little John.

"Reg, if you'll just let us explain…"

"What and you were just going to leave without a goodbye?"She choked back, trying to keep her tears from falling and clutching onto Roland as he turned into her arms to watch

"No but we didn't know where you were and we think its best if he goes back to Sherwood. To go back to where he was born." John Explained to Regina.

"You didn't think I should have a say in the matter. I love him too and now you're trying to take him away from me…" She spoke the last part softly as Roland rested his head on her shoulder and she rested her head on top of his.

John stepped up to her and gently placed his hand on her free shoulder and meeting her watery eyes. "Reggie, you know we wouldn't completely take him away from you. But you know like the rest of us that Robin would want his boy to know where he was from and keep him safe. Right now Storybrooke is not safe and with everything going on do you think you'd be able to look after him as you would want to? We have to do what's right for our little lad. We were discussing with Zelena to have visits, whether they are here or in Sherwood, we will figure out. We have the Apprentice's wand to come and go."

Adjusting Roland on her hip, she took a moment to contemplate John's words. With a sigh, she set Roland on the ground to speak to him, knowing what she had to do.

Bending down to eye level with him, she took his chin in hand as she said "Roland, your Uncle John is right. We have to do what's best and that is to go back with them to Sherwood Forest."

"No Gina! I want to stay here with you. And Henry and Sissy. Why can't we all stay here. I don't want to gooo." The little boy cried as he leapt back into her arms.

Stroking his back, she whispered into his ear, " It's what best right now Roland. You'll learn about Sherwood and help all the people still there."

"Can you come with me?" He asked hopefully with a tremble in his voice

"I would if I could but the people here need my help and the people of Sherwood need a brave Knight."

With that comment, Roland pulled away slightly to look at Regina, "I'm your Little Knight." He gleamed.

"Yes you are and your people need you." She said, rubbing her nose against his in an Eskimo kiss

"What if I get scared? Or there's a storm? Whose gonna read me a bed time story?" Roland asked with worry in his voice.

"Well your uncles of course. They will take good care of you. I know it."

Roland nodded his head solemnly, looking towards the ground. "But they won't make the funny voices like you do." Regina chuckled at that one as Roland looked up at her with glassy eyes and asked, "You won't forget about me, will you"

Clutching his chubby cheeks in her hands, she pressed her forehead against his and said, "Never Roland. I promise. You're forever in my heart"

"Pinky Promise?" He asks as he holds up his right pinky in a C shape for her to seal the pact.

She takes his pinky in hers and rests his foreahd against hers, "Pinky Promise." She sighs.

"I Love you, Gina." He whispers so that only she can hear

"I—I Love you too, Roland."

They shared one last vice-clutching hug, holding on to each other for longer than either of them knew. Roland pulled back, reached his little hand into his pocket, and took out what appeared to be a piece of an arrow.

"I want you have this, Gina. It's a feather from one of Papa's arrows. It was his good luck charm. It will protect you."

 _Oh her sweet little knight. Trying to protect her always._ "Thank you, Roland. I will cherish this always." She kissed his cheek, stood up, and took his hand as they walked over to Little John. "You take care of him, You hear me! Or you will have me deal with! I will feed you to a pack of wolves if anything happens to him" She told him, looking straight into his eyes, with a warning tone.

"I will keep our lad safe, Reg." Little john promised. Regina nodded once in return and her stomach clenched when she placed Roland back into John's care.

"One more thing before you go." She said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a compact mirror. After waving her hand over to enchant it, she broke into two and handed it to john. "You take this. I enchanted it as a way to communicate. If you or he ever needs me all you have to do is say my name three times into it and you'll be able to reach me. Stay in touch please." She pleads, looking into his eyes as a treacherous tear falls from her eye.

At this, John grips her into a bear hug. "We will and once we get settled we can set up visits. Figure something out." All Regina can do is nod into shoulder before he lets go and watches as he takes Roland hand to guide him. Before walking through the door, Roland turns and blows her a kiss with a smack to his hand. She returns one in kind and more tears fall as she watches them go through the door.

The tears don't abate as she stares at the door, waiting for it to open again and Roland to be returned to her, for this nightmare to end. It's with the gentle hand of snow White on her shoulder that she looks away from the door and towards her once Step Daughter.

"He'll be safe Regina. It's what is best for right now." Snow said trying to comfort her friend.

" I—I Know. I just keep wondering when I will stop losing the people I love. We were going to be a family. He said I was his future." At this point, Regina lost control on her emotions and broke down into Snow's hug. Besides Mal, she hadn't let anyone see her emotions. Snow held onto her until she heard foot steps and turned to see Emma approaching.

"I'm sorry to interrupt." Emma said as Regina and Snow separated and looked towards her. "But we have another Problem."

"Oh God, what now?!" Regina Lamented with a roll of her eyes.

"Have you checked your phone?" Emma asked Regina

"No why?"

"We have a Text from our Son. It Says 'Moms, don't worry, I've gone to take care of what started all of this."

Regina looked and she indeed did have the same message. "What have you done now, Henry" she said with a shake of her head. "How do we even find him at this point?"

Emma grinned as she replied, "Well it's a good thing I know our son well enough to install a GPS tracker app."

Regina Sighed, "So where are we going in that tin can you call a car?"

"New York."

Read and review please. I'll try not to let it be months this time! Bare with me remember this is titled Temporary Goodbye.


	4. Chapter 4: Half and Half

Thank you for the reviews faves and follows. Enjoy chap 4 !

Chapter 4: Half and Half

With a sigh, she slumped against the door once she closed it behind her and leaned her head against it. After the whirlwind of the past 24 hours, she was glad to be home. Henry had the bright idea of destroying magic since it had taken so much away from them. He thought it had done more damage than good and perhaps, after everything that happened, he wasn't completely wrong

So he had decided to take Violet, steal the piece of the crystal that was left and travel to New York in order to study the research his father had done about the subject. Only he didn't realize he was putting the whole town in danger. Did no one realize actions have consequences? Why was she always the one to pay them?

Gold had found them and took the crystal before her and Emma were able to, finding them unconscious from magic on the New York Public Library floor. After waking them and Henry scolding Emma about not believing in her, they told Henry and Violet to stay in the library and they easily tracked Gold to the Hotel thanks to the magical cloud circling above the building.

Pretending Regina was aligning herself with Gold, Emma tried to steal the crystal back but gold was too smart. In the end, he got what he needed, a piece of Regina hair, to open the portal in order to find his lost love in a box; however, before he could succeed, Henry and violet showed up with the goblet. Utilizing its powers, they did indeed destroy magic without knowing apart of our family was stuck in another land.

While we had looked to the dragon for help without success, Henry, being quick witted, realized the fountain where he made a fruitful wish before, could maybe bring back magic and return our family. With the help of others in New York, who thought they were watching a street show, magic was returned through hundreds of wishes and their family with Dr. Jekyll was returned. Before we left, Henry handed Regina another coin and told her to make a second wish. She wished with everything she had that she would be free of the Evil Queen.

Who knew that this fountain was indeed magic because her wish was granted. Thanks to the magic and science of Dr. Jekyll, she was able to use his serum and, not only separated herself from the Evil Queen, but destroyed her by crushing her heart, freeing herself from the binds of her past.

Now they were home and everyone was in one piece—well mostly. Thanks to Gold, Jekyll's other Half, Hyde, was able to make it into storybrooke and had met her in the streets for a little chat. The hairs on her neck still stood as he told her it's not that easily to snuff out the darkness.

 _What does that mean?_

"Mom!"

She jumped, coming out of her reverie as her son called her name. She shook her head and focused towards him. "Yes Henry?"

" You ok? I was calling your name like 10 times?" He questioned her with a puzzled look from the stairs, leaning against the banister.

" Yes. I'm fine, Just a little exhausted from chasing everyone half way across the world." With a raise of her eyebrows, she made her way towards him and cupped his chin a second before letting go.

"I'm sorry mom, I thought was I was helping" He said with sincerity.

"I know but you have to realize actions have consequences, Henry."

"Let me guess, I am about to get mine?" He sighed, shifting on his feet, knowing what was coming.

"You guessed right, no Video games, TV, or any other devices with screens for an undetermined amount of time."

" Any idea when that amount of time WILL BE determined?" He emphasized the "will be" part.

"I will discuss it with Emma tomorrow. Along with asking her if she has any other suggestions for your insubordination."

Henry scrunched his face. "Awww come on mom and you're still using that word?"

Regina couldn't help but chuckle at that one and pointed her finger up the stairs. "Yes sir, now get to bed. It's been a hell of a day."

Before heading upstairs, he pecked her on the cheek and wished her a good night. Her eyes followed him as he ascended the rest of the staircase and waited until she heard the closing of his bedroom door. Taking a breath and running her fingers through her hair, she then took proceeded to remove her coat and boots to place them in the closet. After everything was in their proper place, she turned and padded her way up the grand staircase to her room.

Upon entering, she closed the door, leaving it open a crack in case Henry needed her, and then ensued to change into her pajamas. Starting with her denim jacket, She slid it off her shoulders and that was when the letter glided down to the carpeted surface. The same letter she had found, while they hunted down Henry in New York, tucked into the Robin Hood book that remained in the apartment where Robin had tried to make things work with Marian—Eeeer zelena?

Staring at it while trying to hold back the tears, she slowly crouched to pick up the envelope in which the letter was housed and made her way to sit on the end of the bed. Treacherous tears fell again she reread his words of about how he shouldn't be writing this but couldn't help himself it seems, of how proud he was of her, of how she would always be a heroine, and of how she would always be the woman he fell in love with. This would be the closest he would ever hear of him saying "I love you." More tears fell as she realized the room still smelled of him, of forest.

Upon that thought, she clasped the letter close to her heart and let the tears flow like a river with a choked sob.

"Look at what you've become. So Pathetic." Regina jumped as the owner of the disgraced, deep voice crept out from the corner, making herself known.

With wide eyes, Regina was Gobsmacked with who emerged from the dark corner into the light of the moon from the window. "No…" She whispered.

" Yes. Did you think it was that easy to get rid of me?" The Evil Queen smirked towards Regina, questioning her.

Regina stood from the bed. "But how? I crushed your heart. No one survives that, believe me we know that personally."

Regina watched as her other half surveyed the room and came to the dresser, "Isn't it obvious?" she questioned with a tilt of her head at Regina before she looked down as she swiped her finger across the dresser, checking for dust. "You can't just destroy me Regina, not while you are alive too." She looked up towards Regina as she finished her statement, looking bored.

"What?" Regina replied in a short, husky tone.

The Queen smirked again, looking over her shoulder towards Regina. "We are half of one whole, Regina. As long as one of lives, so does the other. Neither can be destroyed—obliterated, whatever you were trying to do to me."

"Why would you chose those words." Regina retorted back with gritted teeth

The Queen turned and raised an eyebrow with a wicked smile towards her. "Why? Did they hit a soft spot?"

"You know what happened to Robin. You know he was…He died…for me, for us. He sacrificed everything for us. That's true love" Regina choked back her tears.

The queen rolled her eyes, examining her finger nails. "Look what love has done to you, where it has gotten you"

"It made me stronger" Regina retorted back.

Looking up, the queen took one step towards Regina and sneered. "It made you weeeeeak." She drawled out.

"I AM NOT WEAK!" Regina screeched.

"There's some of our fire." The Queen gleamed with happiness. "And you may want to keep that fire my dear."

"Why is that?"

The queen stood straight and flipped her cape as she turned and the light hit her, revealing her most maniacal look. "Because this is War." She jeered with wide eyes before she cackled and poofed herself away, leaving only her dark smoke behind.

 **The Next Morning…**

"This is insane!" Emma said as she paced around her parent's loft living room with her hands on her hips. "So, crushing her heart didn't kill her? How is that possible?"

"I don't know." Regina replied looking up towards Emma from her spot sitting at the kitchen table, coffee cup cradled in both hands.

"Did she give you any hints or clues, Regina?" Snow asked while she was washing the breakfast dishes at the sink.

"She said something like Hyde did, that it's not that easy to destroy her and the darkness." She swallowed before she continued. "Then, she said that while I live, she can not die. That we are half of one soul. I couldn't just obliterate her."

David moved and leaned on the kitchen chair that was on the other side of the table. "Does the same hold for you?"

Regina crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair, focusing a raised eyebrow on David. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I assume the same holds true for you too. You can't die as long as she lives?"

"I assume. This is powerful magic I don't know much about. But Perhaps your new friend, Jekyll, may know something." Regina stated as she leaned forward, elbows on the table, messaging her temples to try to ward off the oncoming headache. Nothing could ever be simple in this town. After a moment, she looked up towards the others. "She also had quite the threat."

"What was that?" Emma inquired as she walked over to Regina and sat down on the chair adjacent to her, leaning back with a worried look.

Swallowing nervously, Regina made sure she had everyone's attention before she continued. "That this was war."

A war it was indeed with many endless battles that had no end in site. Jekyll had confirmed what the Queen had said, as long as one lived so would the other as well. It was complicated magic dealing with split souls. To make matters worse, they had come to learn that the queen had aligned herself with Gold and Hyde, making a formidable team.

Gold was a menace as always, willing to align himself with whomever could get Belle back. The Queen was causing wreckage wherever she went, taunting Regina and using fear as the ever effective tool. Unified with Hyde, they utilized their magic and his serums to pit the heroes against one another. Snow was much like alter ego in the Prior author's alterative universe, going after Regina's heart. Her mind was manipulated to make her think Regina had killed charming. Charming had been turned into a mix of someone like his brother and character in the alternative universe. Being brought back to the darkness, Emma was turned into the dark swan once again. Hook, well, he didn't change much at all besides taking treasures all for himself. Perhaps the killing or threatening anyone that got in his way was a little out of his current character.

Having Jekyll on their side came in handy. He was able to re create the serum that brought their heroes back to their normal selves. Now their enemies seemed to have their sights set on Regina, trying to kidnap her into the asylum at every chance. The heroes were able to miraculously evade any attempts to do so until one night, when things had been quiet and the trio had not made an appearance in a few weeks, when Regina told Henry she would be fine on her own. After all the craziness, she needed a night on her own with a hot bubble bath and glass—probably bottle of wine. Still not completely convinced, Henry conceded and went to spend a night with Emma and the pirate.

As always in Storybrooke, one should never let their guard down because Hyde surprised Regina as she reached for that bottle of wine. Utilizing his lightening taser with her back turned, reaching for a wine glass, he knocked her unconscious, bottle of wine tumbling to the ground and shattering on impact, red liquid bathing the kitchen floor in its wake.

Regina groaned as she started to regain consciousness. Taking her head in hand, she sat up slowly and started to try and take in her surroundings. Everything was fuzzy at first and sounds sensitive to her ears, even the water dripping from the ceiling causing a stabbing pain. After a moment, she registered that she was on a cold, concrete ground and upon blinking a few times to bring things into a better focus, realized she was in Hyde's asylum cage.

Heaving a sigh, she slowly stood and made her way to the pad lock of the door, tugging on it at first to see if it would loosen. When that of course did not work, she huffed and called forth her magic to break the lock open; however, it seemed to be protected against magic and would not budge. Stomping her heeled foot in anger, she growled and tried several other spells without success repeatedly, getting more agitated with every failed attempt.

"That's not going to work."

Jumping in surprise, she stopped and turned towards the other side of the cage to see a shadow in the dark corner, leaning casually against the wall with his arms and legs crossed. "Come out. Show yourself." She demanded.

"As her majesty commands." He chuckled before emerging into the soft light that only torches provided, a hood covering his face that went along with his black, leather outfit similar to something of the main hero on the show, Arrow, that her son watched.

"Too cowardly to show your face?" She snided at him.

"Not to you, your highness." He retorted back as he lowered his hood revealing olive skin, dark short hair, a trimmed beard adorning his face, and deep set eyes.

Crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes in distrust, she questioned "Who the hell are you?"

With a bow, he reached out and took her hand. "Names Robert, but my friends call me Rob." He answered and then proceeded to kiss said hand before she pulled it back

"Well Rob-ERT, if you're so smart why can't I break us out of here." She said pointing towards the locked door."

"Well I thought that part would be quite obvious."He playfully said while scratching his beard."The queen clearly locked it by blocking your magic against it. The whole cage is covered in magic. She is you, you know."

"I am not her anymore." She growled before she groaned and threw her head back in frustration before she went and sat on the warped bench near her, putting her head In her hands. "So I am stuck in here…with you." She said as she looked up at him for confirmation.

"I'm afraid so Milady." He replied back

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" she barked at him

"My apologies." He said quite stunned. "So should I continue calling you Your Majesty."

"I Prefer Regina."

"Then Regina it is." He paused a second to take her in before he carried on. "Why don't you like being called Milady?"

She rolled her eyes. "That's none of your business."

Robert leaned on his side on the bench, head rested propped up on his elbow with one leg straight the other bent behind it. "Does someone you care about call you that?"

Her only response was to look down, not making eye contact.

"That's it isn't it." He said with a grin

"You're smug you know that, right." She retorted back in annoyance and continued in a whisper. "doesn't matter, he's dead."

His features softened and he genuinely said, "I'm sorry."

"Me too." She said softly.

"It's never easy, losing the ones we love."

"I know that one all too well." She said matter of factly before she continued, trying to change the subject. "So how did you end up in the Trio of Terror's clutches?"

He sniggered at that. "Trio of terror, I like that one." He complimented her. "Lets just the say The Queen didn't like me trying to steal from her all that much. After I was caught, I wasn't very forth coming on who I was and what I was trying to get. So I became her little play thing—her experiment."

Regina looked towards him and raised an eyebrow in question. "Experiment?"

Robert adjusted himself to a sitting position, one foot propped up on the bench, as he continued. "Yes. Let's just say she tried a whole lot of Hyde's littler serums to reveal who I was with no luck. None of them seemed to want to work on me. Hyde knew exactly who I was from our land of untold stories yet the queens trials still continued. I was a frustrating enigma to her"

"I bet." Regina responded.

"She's quite…spicy your other half."

Regina scoffed. "There are many things The Queen—or I, I suppose, have been called and spicy has not been one of them.

"Sassy? Enchanting?beautiful? Bold? Audacious?" He listed off words he might use to describe her.

She froze upon hearing those words and looked up to lock eyes with him, ready to respond until they heard the jangle of keys in a lock to the main door leading into the chambers. Looking towards the door, Regina and Robert saw the Queen standing there in the doorway with a chesire grin plastered on her face.

"My my my look what the cat dragged in." She taunted while she walked seductively towards the cage, her feathered cape floating behind her. "Enjoying your stay my dear other half."

"It's not exactly the Ritz." She retorted standing toe to toe with her, the cage the only thing between them. "Get to the point, Queenie. You're not here to discuss my accomidations. What exactly do you want with me?"

The Queen took and step and grabbed Regina's face to bring them nose to nose. "That's for me to know and for you to…find out." She cackled. Let's just say, you're going to be my other little experiment, Regina. It's just not that easy to get rid of darkness. To get rid of me, which I don't know why you would want to. We used to have so much fun."

Robert stood on the other side of the cage, leaning against the bars, unable to look away from the scene in front him. It was then the Queen noticed and turned towards him, pushing Regina away in the process. "You can put your tongue back in your mouth, Outlaw." She paused before continuing to as Regina. "He's quite handsome…" She took a breath, pushing up her corset clad cleavage in the process at him. "Isn't he? That would be fun the three of us, wouldn't it."

"I don't force people into my bad anymore." Regina replied flatly.

"I don't think we would have to force him dear. He's practically panting." The queen stated rolling her eyes turning to leave. "While this has been…stimulating for some," She glanced towards Rob over her shoulder as she sashayed towards the exit, "I have some other things to attend to. I will be back later dears."

Regina watched until the queen left and then looked towards Robert, whose eyes were glued to the retreating Queen. "Seriously, you should put your tongue back in your mouth." Regina teased.

"Jealous?" Robert asked

"what? Of myself?" She rolled her eyes. "I don't think so."

"Ahhh yes well the Queen may have ample bosom…" He held up his hand as if to show off large breasts. "on display, I can't help to hate that cape or long poofy dresses as it hides other "Ass-sets"

Regina's only reply was a scoff and another roll of her eyes before he continued. _Men,_ she thought.

"However that tight skirt of yours does nothing to hide such Assset." He finished as he leant back to look at her bottom.

"You're insufferable you know that." Regina replied as she went to sit down again and took the pins out of her not so polished bun anymore as she did so.

"Why didn't you tell me you had those?" Robert questioned her with wide eyes.

"What? These bobby pins?" She replied back while holding them up with a curved brow and shake of her head in question. "You can't actually tell me you can get us out with these?"

Taking them from her hand, he proceeded to take them and pick the lock. "Watch me." He said with a smug a few clinks and turns of the wrists, the lock clicked open and he looked over to her with a wide grin.

"Smug bastard." She muttered.

He reached his hand out to her. "May I assist you out of here Regina?"

"And why should I trust you Outlaw?"

"Well, Regina, may I remind you I have been here for weeks and I did know this place in our land as well and I happen to know where the entrance is to the underground tunnel that will lead us right out to the woods is. But if you'd rather take your chance on your own, please feel free." He commented.

"Fine. Lets get out of here. But I swear to god outlaw if you get us caught or are lying to me, you'll lose what makes you a man. Is that clear?"

"Crystal. Now shall we." He said using his hands to show her like a gentlemen out and she proceeded to exit with a roll of her eyes in annoyance at this Outlaw.

With the stealth of a practiced thief, Robert opened the front prison doors without a sound and looked in all directions to make sure no one was on guard. Looking over his shoulder, he nodded to Regina that the coast was clear and grabbed her hand to make sure they didn't get separated. Turning left, he quietly lead them down a short hallway, halting only a moment to peer around the corner, before continuing down a much longer hallway that seemed to contain quarters for "patients."

"Does he keep people locked away in these rooms?" muttered Regina in question.

"Yes." Robert replied before holding his forefinger to his lip to signal Regina to be quiet. They would be chopped meat if they were caught escaping. He continued to lead them down the hallway until he saw an open door near the end. They went to tip toe past but he paused when he saw his own prized Bow and Arrows leaning against a book shelf, and turned to grin at Regina, giving her a knowing look.

Regina glowered at him, picking up on what he was going to do. "No. Are you crazy." She mouthed. Robert shrugged his shoulders and turned back towards the doorway to lean and see that the guardsman was passed out on his desk, empty bottle of cheap vodka still clutched in his hand. Perfect, he thought. Light on his feet, he entered the room and with careful steps made his way to get his weaponry. Reaching out with his fingers almost on the bow, he thought he was home free when he re planted his foot and the old wood floor beneath the molded carpet creaked in protest to the added weight.

Freezing in place, he squeezed his eyes shut as he waited for them to get caught. The guardsman stirred from the noise but only snorted with a snore, raised his head slightly, only to fall right back into its original place. With a sigh, he relaxed and grabbed the bows and arrows to make his way out of there, avoiding the creaky spot on his way out. Regina was there glaring at him with her arms folded in front of her chest. Robert's only response was to raise the items and smile wildly in triumph before he moved to continue down the hallway. With a roll of her eyes in annoyance once again, Regina followed him until he stopped in front of a portrait. With a knowing hand, he reached for the candle holder next to the portrait and pulled it back to reveal a hidden passage way.

"Ladies first." He mouthed silently.

With a nod, she went and slipped through the small opening in the wall, Robert following shortly after her, closing the opening behind him. It was a tight space, so much so that after Rob closed the part of the wall, he was pressed up against her in the dark.

"Well…this is awkward." He chuckled.

If there had been enough light to see, Regina knew that he would have that smug grin plastered on his face. "You really take pride in stating the obvious, don't you." She retorted. "Is there any light in here."

"Yes, there should be a torch here somewhere on the wall. Those fireballs of yours should come in handy." Turning, he grasped at darkness to locate it until a loud thunk was heard followed by a son of bitch from the outlaw. He groaned as he rubbed the spot where his head hit the torch.

"ha ha ha ha ha, need some help there clumsy." Regina laughed at him as she opened her palm and ignited a fireball in her hand to illuminate the passageway. Locating the torch, she brought her palm up to it and it ignited in flames easily. She grasped the handle and directed the light deeper into the darkness, flooding their exitway of stairs down just a few meters from them. "So where to now." She queried as she made her way to the edge of the stairs.

With a grimace and still rubbing his head where a lump was starting to grow as he made his way towards her, he responded back. "The stairs lead down to a tunnel that exits out into the woods. Pretty simple unless you aren't aware of the Queen's traps along the way."

"Hah. Not surprising. Let me guess one of them is stepping stones with a deadly door in between and…"

"You have to step in between the stones. Yes that is one. How'd you know." He asked in surprise.

"Well…she is technically me. Just darker." She said matter of factly.

"Ah yes. I guess that would be true." He replied. "So lead the way your majesty."

The pair made their way down several flights of stairs before they made their way to a dark, danky, and rocky tunnel. Together, as a team, they made their way through the tunnel and around the several of the Queen's booby traps until they came to end of the tunnel, a rope ladder leading up to the exit.

"Well, Regina I believe this is where your expertise will come in handy." He said, eluding her to use her magic to move the rather large boulder that was keeping them from reaching their goal.

She nodded and lifted her hands, calling forth her magic to lift and move the boulder out of the way. After a moment and with her hands shaking from the weight, she was able to move it, letting light flood through the passageway in the process.

"quite impressive." He complimented her handy work. "as always, ladies first." he said with a smirk towards her as his hand was directed towards the exit.

" Don't EVER doubt me, Robert." She said as she walked towards the ladder swaying her hips and looking over his shoulder towards him with own self satisfied grin.

"Oh I won't, your majesty." He acknowledged back as he watched her ascend the ladder. "Now this is a nice view." He wisecracked.

"Oh shut up and behave outlaw or I'll move this boulder right back into its original place, leaving you prey to my other half." She sassed back.

"Well that's usually a nice view too." He responded with.

Regina paused her climbing and looked down towards him. "On second thought, maybe I'll just drop the boulder on your head."

"We both know that boulder won't fit through that hole." He retorted back with as he watched her start to climb again and reached the top to pull herself out onto the top and turn to look at him

"That doesn't mean I wouldn't fling it at you once you got to the top, Outlaw."

Rob chuckled and shook his head as he made his way to the ladder and quickly ascended and climbed out onto the threshold. As he stood and their eyes met, the sun reflecting off of his to reveal the most stunning sapphire crystal clear eyes she had only seen on one other person. It must have been too dark in the asylum and tunnels to have noticed then. Shivers ran down her spine as they continued to stare at one another.

"Well Regina, I do believe this is where we part ways." He stated, ending the moment between them. "Until we meet again." Meeting her eyes, he reached and cradled her hand in his as he bent down and kissed it, not looking away from her. Gently freeing her hand, he walked backwards and winked at her before he spun on his heels and ran deeper into the forest, letting their branches and leaves sweep him up.

As she watched his retreat, she grasped her hand to her chest as she tried to make sense of the tingle that remained there from his lips.

AN: stick with me, I think youre gonna like it. Remember, this is an OUTLAWQUEEN fic. As always please read and review. Always love hearing what people think!


	5. Chapter 5: Rise

AN: quick note. some are concerned for reasons. I will say this, this a fix it fic. I want to show how Adam and Eddy could have done everything I think they are going to do in another way, Give a longtime favorite character more depth, build a relationship for outlaw queen, and delve further into a certain character we love backstory. Stick with me and I think you'll end up loving it. Take this as you will, I love SM Robin. That is all. I won't say more bc I don't want to ruin story. Without further Ado…chapter 5, no beta…so all mistakes are mine.

Chapter 5: Rise

 _Oh, ye of so little faith  
Don't doubt it, don't doubt it  
Victory is in my veins  
I know it, I know it  
And I will not negotiate  
I'll fight it, I'll fight it  
I will transform_

 _When, when the fire's at my feet again  
And the vultures all start circling  
They're whispering, you're out of time  
But still, I rise  
This is no mistake, no accident  
When you think the final nail is in, think again  
Don't be surprised, I will still rise_

Purple smoke plumed and then dissipated to reveal a very tired and dirty Regina. All she wanted to do was get some well deserved rest—maybe a bath—but apparently that would have to wait as she heard voices from her kitchen. With a heavy annoyed sigh, she made her way towards the kitchen, hoping it wasn't another unwanted intruder. Arriving to her kitchen doorway, she peered around the doorway to see who it was and almost straight away turned back to right where she came from.

"Do you think she's ok?" Snow asked looking up at David from the floor as she cleaned up the broken glass.

"You know Regina, she can take care of herself. She's probably sulking in her vault." David commented handing his wife a damp cloth to mop up the spilt wine

"Gee David, thanks for being so very concerned for my safety." Regina sassed, making her presence know, as she leaned against the doorway with her arms crossed and a raised eyebrow.

"Oh Regina…You're here!"

Snow jumped up and hugged her. "Thank god you're ok. You weren't answering your phone so David and I decided to come and check on you. What happened? I was worried sick." After a moment, snow let her go and looked at her with anxious eyes.

Looking from snow and glaring at David, she replied bluntly. "Well, I wasn't sulking in my vault."

David grimaced. "Yeah, sorry about that. WE are glad you're ok. What happened? you look like you rolled through a mud pile."

"Well, I'm a little dirty from trotting through underground tunnels, trying to escape from my other half and her creepy, herculean side kick." Regina bit back.

"What? How did you end up in there?" snow questioned.

"Let's just say Hyde snuck up on me with his little lightening stabber. Chump move if you ask me." She said sarcastically waving her hands and slumping to lean against the kitchen island "anyway, right now I am exhausted and need to sleep. Why don't we all meet at Granny's in a few hours and I will fill everyone in on what happened. See if we can come up with some sort of plan"

Snow stepped up to Regina and laid both of her hands on her shoulders with a squeeze. "Ok get some rest. You need it after the past couple of days. We will see you later." Letting go of Regina's shoulder, snow turned towards David with a reached out hand. "Come on David, lets leave Regina be for a bit."

Grabbing his Wife's hand and walking her towards the door, David spoke to Regina as he passed. "Be careful Regina."

"Don't worry, I am going to put up some much needed protection spells this time" Regina informed David as she walked with them to the front door.

Snow smiled. "Good idea."

Watching them leave, Regina signed that they were finally gone and turned to go upstairs. She showered and then got dressed into a pair of black leggings and a white V neck T shirt. Crawling into bed, she sighed and snuggled under the covers in order to get warm. With a shiver, she pulled the comforter tighter under her chin to get warmer, but after a few minutes realized it wasn't working, she was still cold. With a huff, she threw the blankets off and went into closet. Scanning and pushing aside different dress shirts, she looked for a warm sweater. Exhaling in defeat, she dropped her hands from the clothes bar and scanned down the line with her eyes until she came to his end of the closet. There were nights he and Roland would spend the night, so she offered him some space within her closet.

With a sad smile, she took his grey zip up sweatshirt off its hanger and brought it to her nose, smelling it reverently. It smelled like forest. She put it on and it zipped it up as she made her way back to her bed. Once again, she snuggled under the covers, only this time she was toasty warm.

 **Later that day…Grannies**

"So, she didn't say anything else about what kind of "experimenting" she wanted to do with you, Regina?" Emma asked with air quotes around experimenting as she, Snow, David, and Regina sat together in a booth at Granny's.

Regina looked up towards Emma and replied with sarcasm. "Please, she's my dark self. It's not like she's going to divulge her devious plan to me while she sits and braids my hair and gabs about American Idol."

"What about that prisoner? He said something about Hyde and The Queen experimenting on him with different serums." David asked as put an arm protectively around Snow's shoulder.

Taking a sip of her tea, Regina shifted nervously in her seat and then looked towards David. "Yes but he said none of them had worked. They tried all different kinds, including the ones that turned you to the good side and the one that turned you to the dark side. It's odd really."

"What makes him different? Did he give any clues?" Snow interjected, leaning her hand on her chin in an inquisitive form.

"Besides being smug, constantly staring, and commenting about my ass, he was not very helpful." Regina replied with a shake of her head, a frustrated undertone to her voice. She just wanted all of this to be over with.

"Well we know about that underground tunnel now, maybe we could sneak in and take a look around the asylum."

"Yeah like The Queen wouldn't figure out that is how we got out and lock it down further now." Regina snarked as she looked towards Emma. "It was just a—" Before Emma could finish her thought, there was a loud boom followed with Granny's shaking on its foundation and the lights flickering intensely.

"Oh god, what else am I going to have to put in the budget to be fixed." Regina said while tilting her head back in annoyance. "I guess she finally figured out the outlaw and I escaped. We should probably go stop them before they burn the entire town down."

The group followed Regina as she exited Granny's and made her way to the middle of main street, where The Queen and a group of her black knights were waiting for her.

"Well look who finally figured out I escaped, took you long enough Queenie." Regina goaded at the Queen.

"Where is he? Where is my prisoner that you took from me." The Queen snarled with rage in her eyes.

While examining her nails nonchalantly, Regina answered "Don't know, haven't see him."

"You're LYING. He escaped with you. TELL ME!" The Queen shouted with wrath surrounding her voice

In mock deviance, Regina just shrugged her shoulders.

"Fine, then we will do this the HARD way." Clearly losing her patience, the Queen raised her hand and drew forth her magic to choke Regina and lift her into the air. There was a simultaneous shout of Regina from the charming family

"Don't interfere." Regina muttered as she continued to stare down The Queen from 15 feet in the air. "She knows she cant hurt me."

"WHERE IS THE OUTLAW?" The Queen countered back, disdain in her voice.

"What do you want with him? Why is he SO important to you?" Queried Regina to the Queen with a self-satisfied smirk on her face, knowing she was getting to her dark counter part.

"That is none of your business. Like I would tell you." The Queen retorted, glaring down at Regina as she tightened her hold on her neck causing a choking gasp to come out of Regina, who seemed like she was close to passing out.

With maniac eyes, The Queen did not look away from her victim thus not noticing the shadowed outline of a hooded man on top of one of the buildings. It wasn't until the sharp whistle of an arrow grazed past her ear did the Queen come out of her stupor and cause her to lose her grip on Regina, letting her fall to the ground, gasping for air as she grabbed at her neck. The Queen turned with a dramatic whip of her cape to see the hooded figure on top of one of the stores. "YOU!" she shouted towards her enemy. "That arrow almost took off my head!"

Chuckling, he leapt off the building, landing on his feet in a crouched position as he looked up towards the Queen with a wide smile. "My apologies Your Majesty, but I was simply trying to save your other ass." As he stood, Rob lowered his hood of his leathered vest that showcased his toned arms wrapped in leather forearm long cuffs and highlighted his slim waist. He also wore matching black leather and cloth trousers that displayed his muscular legs.

Huffing, the Queen flicked her cape again as she said looking down on him with hooded eyes as she raised her chin regally "excuse you, who do you think you are talking to me like that!"

Knocking an arrow to his bow and lifting it in the direction of the queen, The Outlaw replied with sarcasm because of course the Queen knew who he was. "Name is Robert but my friends call me Rob, Your Majesty." Without hesitation, Rob aimed his arrow a little to the left of the queen at one of her knights and let go. His arrow flew, catching her elaborate cape before it hit the thigh of a knight beside her. Before the queen or her knights could react, rob let another arrow go on the other side of the queen, also catching her cape before it got imbedded with the arrow in her knights thigh on the other side. A third arrow passed between her legs and through her cape before it hit a knight's chest. Stumbling to the ground, the Queen screamed as she was literally stuck to her knights, unable to get free as her cape was attached to her dress.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS OUTLAW!" With a flick of her hand, The Queen poofed herself and her knights out of there.

Once they were gone, Rob turned and walked towards Regina and reached his hand out in order to help her up. "Milady are you injured?"

Still holding her throat, she glared up at him. "I told you not to call me that! It's Regina and I didn't ask for your help." She retorted back as she stood.

"You know a simple Thank you would suffice for saving your royal ass, REGINA." He snapped back. "even if it is quite a nice one at that."

"You are insufferable you know that!" Regina sassed back before she turned and made her way towards Grannies, only stopping to tell the charming that they should go back and form a game plan. After the charmings invited Rob to go with them, the group made their way back to Grannies.

 **A few minutes later…**

Charming stood arms crossed, one eyebrow raised, and mouth opened in amazement at the scene before him. Snow, on his left, leaned against him as she stared in amusement at the spectacle before her while emma tilted her head in confusion at the pair arguing.

"You're SO smug." Regina yelled.

"You're SO aggravating." Rob retorted back

"You're still SO insufferable!" Regina bit back

"Like you aren't pompous, YOUR MAJESTY!" He roared

"You're irritating!" she screeched

"And you're just as pretentious as any Royal I have ever met!" He quipped back.

"You're just a greedy Thief who knows nothing about me!" She lipped at him

"You're a stubborn, intolerable, hot head." Rob hollered back.

The Two continued to argue back and forth as the others continued to gawk at the pair. Charming leaned over to snow. "Are you having a sense of deja vu? This is familiar, right?" He asked and snow nodded her head slowly in reply, unable to look away with her mouth open in shock.

Emma too leaned closer in to her parents with a questioning look. "What do you mean this is familiar?"

David shifted back towards Emma and whispered, "In the Enchanted Forest, during the missing year, Regain and Robin argued exactly like this."

"Well this isn't helping!" Emma replied before she spoke up and stopped their squabbling. "GUYS STOP! THIS IS NOT HELPING TO SOLVE OUR PROBLEM!"

Rob and Regina jumped and looked towards Emma, both pointing towards the other and saying He/She started it at the same time. Both turned and stared daggers at one another as snow stepped up to talk to them.

"Emma's right. If we want to get through this we have to work together and having Rob on our side could be to our ADVANTAGE." Snow emphasized towards Regina before she continued. "He was in the asylum for a long time and around Hyde more as well. He may know how to defeat them. Maybe something even Jekyll doesn't know."

"That is what I was trying to explain to Regina here before, if she wasn't so stubborn." Rob said as he looked towards Regina who just rolled her eyes and crossed her arms miffed. "There is no way to destroy her…well, not truely"

"What?!" The three others said in response as they looked towards him.

"I'm Sorry about this Regina." He looked towards her as he explained everything. "There's only two options, the first excepting that your darkness is a part of you and rejoining yourself with the queen or…" He paused with a gulp. "killing yourself and the queen at the same time…I overheard both Jekyll and Hyde talking about it. At one point Jekyll was working on a serum that could reconnect a person who split themselves. I just don't know if he ever finished it."

"Well…it's a good think he's on our side." David replied.

Regina spoke then, on the verge of tears, getting Robs attention "So that's it, those are my choices." Her voice had a soft disappointment in its tone.

"I'm afraid so." Rob replied gently as he came up to her and squeezed her shoulder in comfort. Without another word, Regina shook his hand off her shoulder and stormed out of the diner.

 **Outside of Grannie's**

Feeling on the verge of a panic attack, Regina stopped outside of Grannie's and sat down at one of the tables, dropping her head into her propped up elbows against her knees, trying to take deep breaths. She couldn't comprehend how these were her only options. Once again, it felt like she was always going to suffer and face the consequences of her past, no matter how hard she tries to move on. Oh how she wished Robin was here right now. He would know exactly what to say to make things better and she needed his unwavering faith in her right now. Why did he have to die? It should have been her, not the honorable father who was cursed to love her.

Continuing and staring off into space within her thoughts, she didn't hear the bell jingle or the shuffled steps of boots behind her. It wasn't until someone cleared their throat, clearly trying to get her attention. Before turning around to reply, she rolled her eyes. "Snow please leave me alone. I don't need one of your hope speeches."

"I am definitely not snow and I will definitely not be giving one of those speeches." Rob replied as he scooted out a chair and sat down facing her. "I think that's the last thing you need right now. Hence why I am here and not the President, VP, and secretary of the forever hope commission."

Looking up towards him, Regina looked towards him in disbelief. "And how do you know what I need?"

Rob shifted back to lean against his chair more as he continued on. "Take it from someone who has been in your shoes—"

"And what do you know about what I'm going through." She cut him off, shifting uncomfortably in her seat and avoiding eye contact with him as she stared at old, stuck gum on the ground.

"Lets just say I know a thing or two about darkness and wanting to escape it. I can see your struggling and that your disappointed by what I said. You feel stuck."

Snapping her head up in surprise at how easily he read her, she replied. "Yeah well, what I HAVE to do is kind of obvious. It's one of two choices. I rejoin myself with the The Evil Queen and continue to suffer the consequences or I don't and there are more chances, the longer she's outside of me, that the people I love pay the consequences. Yes I could sacrifice myself to protect everyone but I can't do that to Henry, he's lost too many people in his life."

As she finished, Rob nodded and leaned against the table, elbows crossed on the surface. "It seems you have already made up your mind."

"Yeah well…I'm obviously stuck with one choice." Crossing her legs and licking her lips in nervousness before she continued. "I'll suffer the consequences, I probably deserve it after everything the Queen—I did. I'll pay my karma but the people I love and care about shouldn't have to.

"Your Robin Hood?" He questioned.

"Yes." She choked, trying to hold back her tears and not get over emotional in front of him. "He should have never had to pay for it. Maybe I never should have let him get close and distance myself like I did when we met in the Enchanted Forest the first time…I'm always questioning the choices I make, whether they are wrong or right." A treacherous tear escaped and she wiped it away, shaking her head in disbelief with how vulnerable she was being with this almost stranger, but for some odd reason, it felt like she could be with him. "Apart of me wonders if maybe the right choice might be sacrificing myself and riding the world forever of the Evil Queen, then no one else could pay the price for my past deeds."

At this, rob reached out and squeezed her hand that was resting on the table, making sure he had her attention. "I think you have your friends and family who would not agree with that plan what so ever, especially your son and the man who sacrificed himself so you could be the woman who lived." He paused and swallowed before he continued while looking straight into lost brown eyes. "You can't let your past dictate your future, Regina. But you can let it be a part of whom you become, learning from it.

Pulling her hand from his, she replied with sarcasm. "How poetic…You do speak as if you know from experience. And how did you know about…"

"Your family may have mentioned it to me inside before you came back…" He said covering himself before he continued, avoiding the subject further. "But everyone has some sort of darkness in their past." He stopped as she tipped her head in curiosity at him. "It's how you take that, learn from it, and forgive yourself. You have a lot of self lothaing within you Regina. That's your biggest enemy and it seems like it always has been. You're your own worst enemy."

No sassy comment came from her, the only response she had was to gaze at him in astonishment at how well he could read her. "So where do we go from here." She eventually got out, trying to change the subject.

"Well, the Charmings went up to get Jekyll in his room and he is waiting inside to discuss that very thing. Shall we?" He stood and paused as she got up and they both made their way inside to where the rest of the group was waiting, looking to her as they came in.

"So is this serum possible to make or what?" She interjected before anyone else could say something, looking to Jekyll who adjusted his spectacles before he spoke. "Yes, I was able to finish it awhile back and could probably find most of the ingredients within your vault."

"Most?" Regina questioned with a raised eyebrow as she crossed her arms in front of her.

"There's one special ingredient that I would need from our land. It's called golden forsythia. It doesn't grow in this realm or the Enchanted Forest. But…I do know I believe where some may reside…" Jekyll stalled.

"Where?" Regina asked, frustration dripping from Regina's voice at his avoidance.

Jekyll shifted awkwardly before he went on. "In the asylum."

"Great! Now how in the hell are we going to get it from in there" Regina exhaled as she pinched her eyes shut and rubbed them with a hand in irritation.

Snow stepped in to join the conversation. "What about sneaking in somehow? Those underground tunnels?" She inquired to Rob with the excitement that this might work.

Rob just shook his head as he responded, thinking how gullible this princess could be. "You don't think she would have that well guarded and tricked with magic by now. Surely she figured out that's how we escaped."

"Anyone else have any bright ideas?"Regina snarked.

"I might have another idea." Rob stated simply, looking toward Regina. "But you may not like it."

"Well, spit it out. We don't have all day."

Knowing he had to be gentle, he said hesitantly, "Your son is the author, No? Perhaps he could write this—Forsythia right into our hands.

"NO!" Regina and Emma both cut him off and stepped towards him before he could continue.

Rob held up both of his hands in defense. "I know you two would not want to get him involved but it may be our only chance. All of us would make sure he is protected and…" He swallowed nervously before he continued, unsure if this tactic would work. "The Queen is also—sort of—his mother too so I doubt she would ever hurt him. Going into the tunnels would be a suicide mission where one of us would get hurt or worse killed. That's the last thing any of us would want."

"He has a point." David piped in. "It probably would work. We could put up protection spells when we did it."

Emma looked uneasily towards Regina and, after a moment, they both nodded in silent agreement at each other.

"Ok." Regina huffed, shoulders dropping, knowing they were right. "But we do this MY way. I can't lose anyone else.

All of them nodded in agreement. Regina took out her phone out to call her son, discovering he was at Merlin's mansion doing research. During his exploration, he had discovered that new stories started to pop up in the once empty volumes. Telling him to stay where he was, the troop trekked their way up towards the house that stood on the edge of the cliff.

Eventually, they found him in the library looking through the different stories that now filled the books, hoping to find something to help his family. As his family and Jekyll filled him on the plan, Rob began puttering around and flicking through the pages of one of the books on the table that was closest. He went through page after page, without interest, until he got to about page 20 or so and froze. There in front of him was a cartooned version of his face, Symbol of his family name, and past.

Quickly, he picked the book up and spun on his heels so his back was towards the others. Looking over his shoulder nervously, he made sure one was watching before he tore the pages out and stuffed them into his vest. No one could discover these pages.

To not draw attention, he casually closed the book, returned it to its original spot on the table, and made his way back to the group, pretending he was there the whole time. Listening, Henry had agreed and was eager to help out even though it was mostly against the rules of being the author; however, this was for the greater good.

As a group and with Regina's advice, they had decided to go to her vault where she could conjure up the most protection spells to keep all of them safe. So once again, blank book and the Author's pen in Henry's hand, they made their way to the Vault. Once there, Regina and Emma immediately put up the protection spells. After making sure everything was in place, Regina and the Charmings circled around Henry with Jekyll flanked on the side and Rob standing casually with his arms crossed by the entrance into the main room.

Not wasting any time, and with everyone watching, Henry opened the book and with a shaky, nervous hand, began to write: _For the greater good, the Golden Forsythia that the heroes needed appeared in the author's hand._

After a moment, there was a swirl of smoke and a cluster of the flower appeared in Henry's hand. It sparkled in the dim light, a deep golden glow it inherited compared to its non magical counterpart. With a proud smile, he lifted it toward Regina and she accepted it with a hug, waiting for the Evil Queen and Hyde to make their entrance; however, they never showed up. A collective sigh went through the group as they all relaxed.

With a nod towards Jekyll, Regina handed the Forsythia to him and went around, helping him collect the items he would need. After the mixing of the base ingredients, the final ingredient, the golden forsythia, was added to the beaker with a dark inky liquid. The mixture glowed as bright as the sun before it faded and left a golden serum flecked with glitter as Jekyll raised the beaker and rotated it before his eyes. It seemed to almost twinkle as the rays of light caught the glitter inside. With a satisfied smile, he put the beaker down and picked up the syringe and suctioned the serum into it, holding it up to Regina afterwards. "The choice is yours, Regina."

Not knowing why, Regina looked over to Rob who nodded his approval. Turning her attention back to Jekyll, with a jittery hand, Regina took the syringe from him. "So what's the plan?"

 **The Next Morning…Granny's**

Delaying the inevitable, Regina stood outside and stared at the entrance into the Diner. Her nerves were on edge to say the least. Today would hopefully be the final battle but she was still having trouble trusting her instincts to make the right decision. In the end, she knew she would do whatever it takes to protect the people she cares about. No one else was losing their life for her.

With a trembling, heavy sigh, she made her way up the few stairs and entered Granny's to see everyone was there waiting on her, even the outlaw who as the door jingled looked up and stared right into her. With one of those stupid smirks of his, he nodded and then made his way over to her and handed her a cup of coffee. "You ready?" He asked, detecting that she was nervous.

Looking up to him, she nodded hesitantly. "I know what I have to do…" Flicking her eyes downward, she took a sip of her coffee and after swallowing her eyes widened and she looked back to him. "How did you know how I take my coffee?"

"Granny knew." He stated simply with a shrug of his shoulders.

With an eyebrow raised in curiosity, she simply nodded and continued her original thought with a more confident and steady voice. "I know what I have to do…but in the end I'll do whatever it takes to protect my family and this town."

Rob nodded in response. "You can do this Regina." He said, trying to give her some confidence.

"Thanks. It's nice to know someone besides Henry really believes in me."

"Isn't that what friends are for?" He asked as he shrugged as shoulders. "Your family and friends believe in you too." He said matter of factly.

"You and I…Friends…that's a good one." She responded in sarcasm before she turned and went to discuss the final plans with the rest of his group. Watching her leave, Rob just shook his head in amazement as how stubborn this woman could be but he would not give in.

The plan was a fairly simple one; they would all go to the open field where the entrance to the underground tunnels into the asylum lay, and hoping they were right about The Queen putting up different protection spells. These protection spells would then draw out The Queen away from asylum, which should work to their advantage. Never to come alone, the Queen would surely bring a group of her knights along with Hyde and maybe even rumple would show up.

Now they all were standing at the opening of the forest that lead to the open field, mentally preparing themselves for batter. Even maleficent had shown up a few minutes before they left Granny's in support of her friend. Everyone agreed that it would be a smart idea to have another practitioner of magic on their side, especially a scary dragon bitch.

Rob looked over to Regina and asked if she was ready to which she responded, "As I'll ever be" with a weary smile. Nodding, robin flicked his pointed finger towards the field in signal to move forwards. As a collective group, everyone began to move and made their way towards the boulder in the middle that covered the entrance to the tunnels. Without hesitating, Regina lifted her hands and called forth her magic to lift the boulder. It raised into the air a few feet before she shifted her hands and put it down not far from its original spot. Standing a circle around the boulder, they all turned quickly on their heels and waited with abated breath for the battle to begin. But the only thing that could be heard were the crows overhead and the rustling of the tall grass around the field.

Emma looked to Regina at her right, who had Rob on the other side of her. "Could we have been wrong Regina, maybe she didn't figure out you and Rob escaped through the tunnels."

"No She did." The Queen stated simply in her deep voice, making everyone jump and turn towards her. Everyone fanned out into a line with Regina in the middle.

"You know never to doubt me my dearies." She barbed at the group with her queenly sneer."To what do I owe the pleasure? Come to submit?"

"No…we came to end this…to end you." Regina retaliated back with confidence and her own "scary face," as her son would call it.

The Queen cackles with a beaming, evil smile, leaning forward towards the group and clasping her hands together in front of her. "You know that's not possible dearie."

"I'll do whatever it takes to protect everyone. This ends today." Regina goads back as she slowly steps towards her dark half.

"Well I see you brought some friends, so did I." The Queen replied back as a large group of her knights marched forth from the trees, lead by Hyde.

"It looks like we are going to need a little fire power." Maleficent grinned at Regina before smoke surrounded her and her dragon self leapt from ground into the sky, hovering to wait for the battle to begin.

"Let the games Begin." The Queen yelled as she threw her arm forward, sending her knights into a charge, standing behind them in the process.

Maleficent shot forward and barreled towards the middle of the knights and sent a blast of fire at them, burning an unaccountable amount of knights.

Snow and Rob let arrow after arrow fly from their bows as Regina flung fireballs at the enemies. Emma stood at her right side using her light magic to stun every knight that neared. Charming, Jekyll, and hook charged forward with their swords to take on the knights that made it through the fire and arrows. A scattering of knights began to advance on them from behind.

Regina spun on her heels, putting herself back to back with rob and hurled fireball after fireball at the approaching knights while Rob continued to release one arrow after the other from his quiver that seemed to magically stay full.

"We make a pretty good team, Regina. Even though I know you'll never admit it." Rob commented after he let an arrow fly

Regina scoffed at him. "What makes you think you know me so well?"

"I know you better than you think. You and I have much in common." Looking over his shoulder, he grinned and let an arrow go blindly that sunk squarely into another knight's chest.

"What could I possibly have in common with an Outlaw?" Regina sassed back as she thrust another fireball at the last knight coming at her from her side and then turned around.

"More than you know." Rob simply stated before he took an arrow from his quiver, pointed end up. "Care to give me a light. I like to watch the bastards burn." Regina raised an eyebrow; an amused look upon her faced as she lifted her hand and ignited a fireball. Rob lit his arrow, quickly pivoted, and shot his arrow at a knight racing towards them. Immediately, the knight incinerated into flames.

"Therapeutic, don't you think?" he asked as he watched with a tilt of head. "Well, Regina, we have an opening. Looks like it's time to face the music. I've got your back." Rob looked over to her as he withdrew his sword from its sheath. With a determined look, she nodded at him and they made their way through the battle. Rob fought ahead of her dueling against anyone who tried to get past him until they finally reached the Queen and he stood to her side to guard against the others.

"I didn't think you were a coward Queenie, hiding in the back behind your knights and Hyde." Regina taunted as she tilted her heads towards Hyde, who was battling against charming and Jekyll.

"I knew you would battle your way towards me, weakening your magic in the process." The Queen chided back at Regina as she stalked towards them and met her face to face. Regina knew she was trying to shake her, to doubt herself, but she wasn't going to let her win. "It's time to end this." Regina glowered at the queen as they met in a stare down.

Both taking a few steps back, they summoned their magic at the same, two purple beams of magic meeting in a dead lock. They remained this way for sometime, one pushing the other as their beams of magic inching closer towards the other back and forth. With sweat on her brow and neck, Regina felt herself begin to physically shake in fatigue. Rob saw this as he noticed The Queen's beam of magic creep towards Regina whose face was scrunched in pain,

"You can do this Regina." Rob yelled to her.

"No she can't. She's weak without me. She needs me." The Queen snarked at Regina.

"I—I cant do this, My magic…its…tired from battling." Regina replied with a worn tremble in her voice.

"You can do this Regina. Your family and friends are here to believe in you. I believe in you." Rob said to her, ignoring the sneers of the Queen. "Don't let your darkness win, let it be a part of you so you don't make the same mistakes again, but let your light shine through because it's beautiful, Regina." He paused as he gulped before he continued. "You are the holder of the most resilient heart, use that now. Use your light to stamp out the darkness. Use how proud your family is that you fight against the darkness every day. Use the fact that if your Robin was here, he would be SO proud of you." He choked on the last words.

Upon those words, Regina glimpsed upwards towards the Queen and did her best to drawn all of the surrounding noise and her own deprecating words out. She closed her eyes once again and thought of only good things that included her friends and her love for her son. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she thought of Robin— _we all deserve a second chance—you just have to open your eyes to see it, Bold and audacious, You can't steal something that's been given to you, use my heart for the both of us, maybe it's all about timing, My feelings are real, Today is not one of those days, That was the best sleep I've had in a long time, It's a sign of hope—you aren't doomed to suffer, Have you ever looked into someones eyes and knew you meant to stare into them, Follow my heart to you—I choose you, I missed you—and I you, Looks like you have a few believers, Our future is not written by our past, You are my future._

The words of their relationship repeated in her head like a mantra before they began to fade and a complete silence overtook her with a scene she will never forget—her and Robin dancing together at the ball in Camelot. What she felt in that moment, she will never let slip away. Safe, loved, content, and at home are just some of the way she would describe it but what she remembered being the happiest about was finally having a partner, who loved all of her—both her light and darkness.

Within a moment of that thought, she felt a renewed strength and the tickle of another brand of magic. She concentrated on it and her thoughts of her son, friends, family, and her Robin. Letting it go, she opened her eyes and saw as a sparkling of white magic circle around the purple to make the most beautiful hue of lavender she had ever seen. Her magic met the Queen's and for the first time she felt like she could win.

Closing her eyes for a third time, she immersed herself into her magic and let it build, shaking from the power. Unable to stop it from flourishing, she began to levitate above the ground. Pushing herself higher as the magic built. Opening her eyes, she looked as her magic was about to take over the Queen, who now had a worried look upon her eyes. "No." the queen mumbled. "You need me."

"Maybe I do and Maybe because you are a part of me. Without you I wouldn't be where I am today. I wouldn't have my son and the other people who love us. But before I finish this there are a few things you need to know."Regina shouted to her counterpart as she kept her magic steady. "I forgive you. I forgive you because I know why you did what you did. All you've ever wanted was to love and be loved in return. You have that in Henry, in your other family, in your friends, and in Robin—who—"She stopped as she started to get emotional and stumble on her words. After a moment, she collected herself. "Who loved all of us, every part."

"Look where that got him. He's dead." The Queen weakly muttered, her magic wearing thin.

"He died to protect us. So we could be the woman who lived. No one has ever loved us like that. He sacrificed EVERYTHING, that's true love." Tears started to flow freely as she finished. "He showed me that good can come from broken and that we all get a second chance. I wouldn't trade loving him for anything" She whimpered as she knew she had to finish this, thrusting her mixed magic towards the weakening queen and minimizing the distance between them in the process. Once she was above her by a few feet, she held her other half's gaze as her magic weakened and Regina was able to stun her. Without any further words, she took the syringe filled with the golden serum and plunged it into the Queen's jugular.

Her body glowed a golden hue before she dissipated into a similar colored smoke and traveled right into the center of Regina's chest before she too glowed so bright, everyone had to close their eyes and block it with their hands. After it dissipated, the group of heroes opened their eyes to see Regina completed once more.

"You did it!" Snow screamed in delight as she raced towards Regina and threw her arms around her . "I knew you could."

"Thanks snow." She replied as everyone else came and they all joined in a group hug. "ok you can all let go and stop suffocating me." Regina sassed after a moment and they all laughed as they pulled apart smiling at one another, relieved that everything was over.

"Wait a second." Emma chimed in to interrupt the moment. "Where is Hyde?"

"Back where he belongs." Jekyll replied as he cleaned and adjusted his spectacles. " I followed Regina's example and reunited him within myself again, forgiving myself for my past grievances." He smiled and nodded towards Regina, who did the same in return.

"So…" Snow stepped in. "I'd say it's time to celebrate. Granny's in a few hours after everyone cleans up?" snow asked raising her hands up as they all nodded and made their way back into town.

"Don't you guys have any other place besides Granny's" Rob stepped up next to Regina and asked.

"Unfortunately not." Regina answered. "I'll see you later?"

"I'll see you there, Regina." He nodded towards her.

 **Granny's, a few hours later**

Everyone in town, including those that decided to stay from the world of untold stories, had met at Granny's to celebrate the end of another catastrophe in town. Villagers cheered in jubilation as they clinked their iced mugs filled with ale together, Henry and violet sat across from each other as he tried to show her video games on her phone, and the Charmings and Hook were tucked into a booth chatting happily with one another. Regina had decided to keep her distance from the group for now and sat at her usual spot at the bar, grinning as she looked over and saw how happy her son was. With a heaving breath, she turned back around and stared absent mindedly at the spoon in her coffee as she stirred the liquid. Oh how she wished robin was here. It was moments like these, the quiet ones, when she noticed his absence the most.

So lost in her own mind, she didn't notice the person that walked up to her right until he cleared his throat.

She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I should have known it was you when I smelled a mixture of dirt and leather." She said as she looked over towards him and noticed that he was now wearing regular street clothes that consisted of a plain white t-shirt, leather jacket, dark washed jeans, and sturdy boots. If she wasn't missing Robin so much, she might actually say he looked good.

"Lovely to see you too, your majesty." Rob retorted with that annoying grin she hated and then proceeded to point at the stool next to her. "Anyone sitting here?"

"Even if I said yes you would probably just stay anyways." She sassed back as she took a sip of her now cold coffee and grimaced.

"I'll take that as an invitation." He smiled towards her as he pulled out the stool, sat down, and proceeded to peruse the menu as he asked. "How are you feeling?"

She scoffed. "Like I got hit by a semi truck, I used a lot of magic today. Tired…wait why do you care?"

"I thought we were becoming somewhat of friends?" he stated simply as he looked towards her sincerely and shrugged his shoulders.

She glared at him as she said. "I don't know what your angle is Robert—"

"I have no angle." He quickly cut her off. "Just trying to be a friend, you can never have too many of those."

"I don't have a lot of friends. Why would you want to be friends with me? I have really ever only been mean to you." She whispered solemnly.

"Well you have one in me now." He grinned as he met those soulful brown eyes of hers. "And you intrigue me. Like I said before, I feel like we have a lot in common."

She simply nodded once in reply as she said. "well…friend…right now I would like some peace and quiet."

Nodding, he looked back at the menu before Granny approached and asked what he would like. In the mood for dessert, he decided on a piece of her apple pie doused in ice cream. For his drink, he decided on a double whiskey. Granny told him it would be few minutes and he nodded in reply as he sat there with his hands clasped together and stared straight ahead.

Within a few minutes Granny brought him his whiskey and he sipped on it until she brought him his treat. Picking up the fork from the napkin, he immediately dove in and picked up a good size portion of pie with plenty of melted ice cream that dripped off the fork. Groaning and moaning, he swallowed and quickly took another bite.

"Could you eat any louder." Regina snapped as she scowled at him.

"It's so good!" He chirped at her as he wiped his mouth with the scratchy, paper napkin. "Want some? I know it's your favorite." He asked holding up his spare spoon.

"No it's all yours." She grimaced at him. "Enjoy. Just do so a little quieter."

Swallowing, he just nodded in reply and then took a sip of his whiskey, noticing that she was eyeing the piece of pie. It was a rather large piece. He wondered if Granny had done so in purpose. With a smirk but not looking over at her, he proceeded to scoot the plate inch by inch towards her on the bar. Her eyes flickered back and forth to the plate. Again he inched it over, practically in front of her now, as she was salivating over it at this point. Granny noticed what he was doing and placed her own set of utensils and napkin in front of her with a smile. "Oh fine, since you're practically shoving it down my throat." She yipped at him and then picked up her own fork and scooped up a good size bite. "This is really good." Her voice was muffled as it was full of pie and ice cream.

"Your majesty, didn't your mother teach you to not to talk with your mouth fool." He said in a teasing manner.

She gulped down her bite as she glowered at him. "Shut up, Outlaw." His only response was to smile at her as she took another bite and he took another as well. They continued to take bites back a forth, fighting over how they would split the crust, until it was gone.

Rob put his fork down and let out a satisfied sigh as he looked towards her, gesturing to the Charmings with a tilt of his head. "Why weren't you sitting with your family."

"Would you want to be a fifth wheel?" She asked with a raise of her eyebrows as she too set her fork on the plate, signaling that they were done.

"Certainly not." He said in understanding as he knew she had just lost her true love. "Which is why I think you need something a little stronger than that lame coffee." He gestured towards the cup before he asked, "May I buy you a drink, or two?"

She leaned her head in her hand as she eyed him. "You know what…why the hell not. I'll take a whiskey.

" Ah a whiskey girl. Behold my heart, Regina." Rob replied with surprise in his voice as she chuckled. He held his hand up to Granny who immediately came over and poured them two each of their order. They both held their glasses up to clink together in cheers. "To new friendships." He said.

"To new friendships." She repeated as they clinked their glasses together with a contented smile upon their faces.

The two continued to chat between each other, talking about things like the latest gossip in town and making fun of how much guyliner hook wore. He told her more about the land of untold stories and she filled in the details he didn't know about Storybrooke. Surprised, Regina found him so easy to talk to, not once was she ever comfortable. And she actually laughed when he told her his story about the time when he was 15 and shot an arrow into his foot.

"And I accidently let go at the wrong time and the arrow went straight into my foot, still have a damn scar from it." They both laughed as he finisged the story. "well it's a good thing you've improved since then." She snorted at him.

"Aye." He said as he finished his whiskey. Noticing she too had finished, he raised his hand toward Granny for another round. "My mates and I growing up always had a grand time." He smiled as Granny came with their round of drinks and then looked towards her. "What about you Regina, did you have fun times? When was the last time you just had fun"

She scoffed and then said quietly to him. "I don't think I can answer that. I'm not sure I know what FUN is."

He raised an eyebrow towards her in astonishment. "You're kidding me. We must change this right away." He paused a moment before an idea came to him to show her about fun and happiness. "Name a day of the week, any week, and I will show you what fun is. Each time it will be a surprise and I promise to make you laugh at least once." He offered.

With a suspicious look, she tilted her head at him. "I find surprises threatening and why should I trust you?"

"Have I given you a reason not to?" He asked simply and waited for her answer.

She contemplated what he had just said and realized he had never given her reason not to trust him. From the very first time they had met, he had always been honest and had her back. There was something deep within her that told her she could trust him.

"What do you get out of it?" She asked skeptically.

"I get to know you better." He answered to which she smiled slightly. "Ok. Saturdays…Henry is with Emma then. I won't miss time with my son." She wouldn't miss time with Henry and she also knew that she dreaded being in that house alone on Saturdays.

"I wouldn't dare ask you too." He paused and took a sip of his drink. "Your boy would have an operation name for it, like operation fun."

"He would have a better one than that." She snickered at him.

"To operation fun until we find a better name." he claimed as he held up his glass to her and she clinked it in return before they both tipped their glasses back and finished off their drinks. Their easy chatter continued as they tipped back whiskey after whiskey, knowing they would regret it in the morning. But she had been through a lot these past few weeks and missed Robin. Being with Rob had somehow made her forget the ache within her soul for five minutes. She also noticed she wasn't shivering from coldness when he was around. So she had decided to keep whistling at Granny and pointing her fingering at their drinks for a refill, feeling tipsier with each drink that was finished.

Both enjoying themselves, they stayed until all had left and they were the only ones in the diner. Granny had kicked them out eventually and she swayed as she stood, the alcohol going straight to her head. Rob offered to see her home and she accepted, leaning against him as they walked

Once they arrived to her home on Mifflin Street, he took her keys, opened the door, and walked her inside. Supporting her with a hand around her waist, he guided her up the stairs as she mumbled sleepy directions to her room. He waited outside her door while she changed until she called that it was ok to come in.

Helping her into bed, she laid down on her pillow and closed her eyes immediately as he covered her with her quilt. After she snuggled underneath the blankets, he placed a chaste kiss on her head, told her he would see her tomorrow—defiantly in the afternoon, and left. After he left the house, she couldn't help but notice that she was cold again.

 **Wow! 9,000 words. This chapter will probably one of the longest. I felt if I broke it up the story wouldn't flow as well. Let me know what you think. Please review and I hope you stick with me.**

 **Next chapter is entitled " Operation Fun: blackjack"**


	6. Chapter 6: Week 1- Blackjack

AN: Thanks to those who followed and clicked favorite. Helps to write knowing people are reading. With that said, please review. I love hearing what you guys think, good or bad. Reviews may also help me write faster! A note going forward, the next chapters(8-10?) are about rob and regina building a friendship. After, you will see why it was done. I will tell you it won't turn romantic, hes there as support. Why she opens up to him more and leans on him and not the charmings (I'm kind of annoyed with Emma's character right now and frustrated to hell as why Hook was brought back but it seems, according to adam, robin will not be brought back indefinitely) will be explained. Robert's past and who he is is going to be a sort of enigma. There will be hints to it but you will find out about his past and why he was in the land of untold stories when Regina finds out. Remember from last chapter, his story was in the book but he tore the pages out and took them.

No beta, so mistakes are all mine. I apologize, I am no professional writer.

 _Sometimes in our lives we all have pain  
We all have sorrow  
But if we are wise  
We know that there's always tomorrow_

 _Lean on me, when you're not strong  
And I'll be your friend  
I'll help you carry on  
For it won't be long  
'Til I'm gonna need  
Somebody to lean on  
Bill Withers-Lean on Me_

Chapter six: Week 1-Blackjack

The bright mid morning sun streamed through the crack in the curtain and hit Regina squarely in the eyes, causing her to groan and turn over. Perhaps she shouldn't have had those last two whiskeys, considering her head is pounding like a hammer is rapping down on it and her stomach churning like butter. Stupid Outlaw, she thought.

In order to block out the bright light that is worsening her head, she took one of the extra pillows and covered her head with it, trying to close her eyes to get more sleep.

Just when she was about to fall asleep, her phone buzzed alerting her that she had a text message. With a frustrated huff, she turned, squinted as the sun hit her eyes again, and reached for her phone. Rob must have put it there on the charger as she didn't remember doing so.

Pressing the ok button to illuminate the screen, she had to look at it with only one eye open to not make her headache worse. Rob had texted her. Well, it looked like he had gotten hold of her phone and changed his name.

 _Dashingly Handsome Outlaw: Do you feel like an anvil is repeatedly dropping on your head?_

With a roll of her eyes at the name he put in, she replied: _Like Wiley Coyote is right above my head._

A minute later she received his reply and they continued to text back forth as she laid against her pillow, trying not to regurgitate the apple pie and fries they shared last night.

 _Dashingly Handsome Outlaw: Who is this Wiley Coyote? Should I be concerned? Do I need to come to your aid?_

 _Regina: No. He's a cartoon._

 _Dashingly Handsome Outlaw: What's a cartoon?_

 _Regina: It's like a fable, never mind. So what terrible thing have you planned for today?_

 _Dashingly Handsome Outlaw: It's not terrible. I'm fairly certain it's something you will enjoy._

 _Regina: Well what is it?_

 _Dashingly Handsome Outlaw: it's called a surprise, I can't tell you._

 _Regina:I don't like surprises. I find them threatening._

 _Dashingly Handsome Outlaw: This is not threatening. This is FUN._

 _Regina: Well how will I know what to wear?_

 _Dashingly Handsome Outlaw: Nice try, your majesty. A relaxed shirt, jeans, and boots should do it._

 _Regina: and you call me stubborn?_

 _Dashingly Handsome Outlaw: LoL. I'll see you around 2. Hydrate and take two of these magical things this world calls aspirin_

 _Regina: Already on it. See you then._

As she put her phone back on the bed side table, she looked at her clock and saw that it was just after 10, plenty of time to catch a little more shut eye. After she got some water, some dry toast, and that aspirin.

 **A few hours later…**

His boots scuffed on the concrete as he made his way up to the doorway and rang the doorbell. As he waited, he nervously adjusted the cuffs on the long sleeve shirt he decided to wear despite the heat. After a moment, he heard footsteps on the other side and then the door opened. Before him stood Regina dressed in dark washed jeans, a short sleeve purple plaid button up, and brown boots.

"Right on time. Who knew Outlaw's were so punctual." She said as she looked at him and crossed her arms in the process.

"Dashingly Handsome Outlaws." He replied with a wink. To which Regina just rolled her eyes at him. "So can you tell me what we are doing yet?"

"Nope. But we can make our way there now. If you don't mind driving your metal contraption." He questioned.

"Oh you're making me drive huh? Some gentlemen!" She teased him as she put her hands on her hips.

"Well, I have come to like my own means of travel of this world. I doubt you would want to ride my motorcycle."

She retracted her head in surprise. "You? A motorcycle?" she questioned in surprise.

"It's quite freeing." He said nonchalantly with a shrug of his shoulders.

"You're right, I will not be getting on that donor-cycle with you." Stepping down the stairs, she began to make her way around back to her Mercedes. "come on, I'll drive. But since you're being so tight mouthed about what we are doing, you are going to have to tell me where to go."

He chuckled at her as he watched her walk away and said. "Of course." Then he too made his way towards her car.

As Regina drove, Robin directed her through the back streets until they came to an open field that lead to a gated pasture with horses casually grazing about. The blue, immaculate stables that housed the horses stood off to the right.

As she brought the car to a hault, Regina gasped in shock, hands tightening on the car steering wheel as she looked at him. "We're going riding?"

Meeting her eyes, he nodded. "Aye, you're majesty. I was fairly certain this is something you would enjoy. Something that would not be threatening."

"How did you know I love riding?" She asked hesitantly.

"Please, anyone around here knows how fierce of a rider the queen is." He complemented her with a gleam in his eyes.

"It's been so long since I've actually ridden." She whispered in embarrassment as she looked away from him. "I'll probably be rusty."

"Well there's only one way to find out. Time to get back on the proverbial horse?" He asked.

Looking up at the pasture in reverence, Regina nodded once and then met his eyes again. " do it."

With a friendly hand, he lead her to the stables where they met with the kyle, one of the stable hands, who would set them up with their horses. Both we set up with stallions, Regina would ride an all black horse whose muzzle had a large white patch shaped like a diamond in the middle while Rob would ride a chestnut marbled with white patches whose name was Clyde. After they tact up their horses, Rob admired as Regina expertly mounted her horse. With her own smug grin and raise of her brow, she looked at him in challenge. "Well Outlaw, you ready?"

"Hah! Just you wait, you're majesty. You are not the only one who is a decent rider." Rob retorted as he too jumped up on his horse with his own self-satisfied grin.

"How about a little challenge?" She stated as she turned her horse to enter the open field and he lead his horse quickly fall into step next to hers. "And what would that be?" He returned.

"Well since you're so sure of yourself, Robert, how about a little race?" she asked as if to dare him to accept.

Pausing, he contemplated her offer before he countered back. "Well if we race, the winner should get something, should they not?"

Regina too pondered for a moment before she looked over shoulder with an evil grin. "loser buys the winner dinner?"

"That's fair." Robert replied with a nod before he continued to bait her. "Hope you like staring at my horse's haunches."

"Please, Outlaw, I'm gonna leave you in the dust." She sneered back at him in her best queenly voice and snarled before she turned towards the front of her horse again.

"Race to the end of the field of the field, around that willow tree, and back?" Robert questions as he creeps his horse up next to hers.

Regina nods. "Sounds Fair."

"On the count of three?"

"I hope you have the money to buy me dinner, Outlaw." She chided at him as she held on tighter to Blackjack's reigns while she waited for the count to begin.

"Well I'm going to want dessert, your majesty." He jested back before he began the count. "One…Two…" he started but not before he took off before the count of three with an evil smirk on his face.

"Hey! That's cheating!" she yelled at him before she propelled blackjack forward. "Come on boy. Lets show him what we are made of. HE YAW." She yelled at she kicked her horses side to have him launch off in a full gallop

Blackjack was strong and fast. Dirt flew up behind him with his long strides as Regina urged him on to catch up to Rob. Just as she was a few strides behind him, they made it to the willow tree and they both had to slow their horses as they went around. This was Regina's chance to take the lead as she was right on his tail now. Strategically, she lead Blackjack to flank Rob's right in order to pass him. Both horse and rider were in tune with another and Regina could tell Blackjack wanted to sore even higher. So with a click of her tongue and tap his the horses side, she told him to let free and let free he did.

With power, blackjack swooped forward and overtook the lead from Rob, easily passing him. Regina could tell Rob was trying to push his horse forward more but she just wasn't as strong and fast as blackjack. They reached the finish line with Regina winning by a full horse length. With a wide smile, she turned her horse towards Rob to gloat, "Looks like I won Outlaw and you even tried to cheat!" she scolded before she continued as she brought her forefinger to her chin and tapped against as if thinking, "Now what do I want for dinner. Hmmmm…I know. A big juicy steak!" she exulted with a bright smile.

"Yeah…yeah." Rob responded as he slipped off his horse." You are quite the rider your majesty. No one would argue that."

"Don't you forget it." She said with a lift of her chin in victory.

"I wouldn't dream of it." He responded cooly as she looked at her but she froze and her smile dropped as her eyes turned glassy as if tears were about to fall. Of course he noticed. "regina, are you alright?"

Trying to keep her tears at bay, she shook her head and cleared her throat before she responded with hesitation "Yeah…it's just…"

"Just what?" Rob urged her to continue as he walked to her side and patted her horse's mane.

"Just…you thought that was impressive. Wait until you see me jumping with this horse." Her mask went up as she replied; avoiding opening up to Rob that Robin too had said those exact words to her, in this realm and in the enchanted forest.

As she turned, she forced the tears away and then led her horse to the fenced in pasture that housed the jumps. Without hesitation, she spurred blackjack forward and easily glided him over the first jump. Then continued on and easily guided the horse over jump after jump with a practiced hand. A content smile came upon her face as blackjack landed after the last jump and she continued to let him trot around the paddock. As she led him to pick up his speed, she closed her eyes and just enjoyed the feeling of the breeze on her face and her braided hair being whipped around.

Once she opened her eyes, she noticed that rob was standing by the fence intensely watching her. Turning her horse in his direction, she made her way towards him and halted blackjack once she was right in front him with a smug smile on her face.

"Now you're just showing off." He said to her in an annoyed tone.

"You're just mad you lost." She quipped back at him

"Well it seems I lost to the best." He replied as he went and mounted his horse that now had a picnic basket attached to the saddle. "But now I want you to follow me, there's something I want to show you." Hesitant about where he was taking her, she held blackjack back and he turned back towards her. "you'll love this, I promise. Trust me. Haven't you enjoyed this day so far?" he asked her.

Without saying anything, she nodded and followed him as he led them through the field and then they meandered their horses casually as they followed the path through the woods in silence. As they road, Regina kept glancing over at him through her periphery. She couldn't understand as to why she trusted this man so easily. There was something that seemed so oddly familiar about him but she couldn't figure out why.

"We're here." Rob said taking her out of her own thoughts.

As they came through the threshold of the forest, it opened to reveal the most beautiful site she had ever seen. The river had dumped into a ravine with a wading pool. In its center were tall cliffs with a water fall tumbling down. Surrounding it, was the greenest of grasses she had ever seen with every color of wild flower sticking out the top. Willow trees and dog woods accented the background of the landscape. Her mouth hung open as she gaped at what was in front of her. "How did I not know about this?" she asked looking towards him. "I created storybrooke, I know EVERYTHING about it."

He chuckled at how baffled she was over this. "Maybe it just magically appeared." He replied with a shrug of his shoulders as he then dismounted his horse and proceeded to unshackle the basket. :I don't know about you, but I am starving. I thought we would have a snack to hold us over until dinner."

She laughed as she dismounted Blackjack and then turned towards him. "You mean the dinner you are going to pay for?"

"You are never going to let me live this one down are you?" he asked as he shook his head and passed by her.

"Not a chance." She smirked as she followed him and he chose to lay the blanket under the shade of one of the willow trees. After she sat down, so did he and she watched as he emptied out the snacks that consisted of fruits, veggies, cheeses, crackers, and water to drink. He handed her a plate and they proceeded to munch on the snacks in silence before he decided to break the tension. "I'm sorry if what I said earlier upset you."

Regina looked down and picked at the leaves of one of her strawberries nervously. She can hear her mother criticizing her not to fidget. "Nothing upset me."

"That's not the way it looked it to me."

Without saying anything in reply, Regina continued to stare at the strawberry as she shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.

He sighed. "Regina look at me." But she continued to pick at her food avoiding eye contact until she felt his fingers on her chin, raising her eyes to his. "Look I'm not gonna force you to tell me but something obviously upset you." He said letting go of her chin as she kept her eyes on him.

How the hell can he read me so easily, she thought before she responded to him. "What do you want out of all of this?" she said with suspicion in her voice because she also still didn't really get what and why he was doing this. "Are you trying to romance me or something? It's a waste of your time because I just lost—"

"You just lost someone you loved dearly." He finished for her before he continued. "no that's not what I am trying to do. I'm trying to be your friend. Someone you can lean on. Whether that is someone you need to talk to or someone to distract you when things get tough.

"Why even want to be friend my though." She asked, confusion behind her voice.

"Like I said, I feel drawn to you and I think we have a lot in a common. I thought we could be sort of a comfort to each other. It's never easy losing someone you love."

"Don't I know it." She whispered sadly as she adjusted her sitting position to have her legs tucked out to her side and leaned on her hand, looking towards the waterfall for a moment before something seemed to click in her mind. "You lost someone too" she responded, a statement more so than a question. He just nodded in response as her curiosity peaked. "they died?" An empathetic look was across her face as he looked up towards her to answer.

"He took a deep breath and released it in a strong puff of air. "No…She's just lost…to me."

With a tilt of her head, she continued to question as he didn't seem too uncomfortable to continue. "Like stuck in another realm?"

"Something like that." He replied solemnly.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's not your fault." He quickly cut her off and reached for her hand resting on her leg. "We will be here for each other. That's what friends are for, right?"

Nodding, Regina contemplated as she looked down as their clasped hands. She's not even sure why she said what she was about to say when she looked back up at him, eyes glassy. "He—robin—said that to me."

Rob tilted his head in curiosity and continued to listen intently. "What?"

"Robin said "I wouldn't dream of it", twice actually, once here in storybrooke and another time in the Enchanted Forest." She replied, trying to keep her emotions at bay. Rob nodded and squeezed her hand to urge her on to continue.

"Each of those times, that was his answer to something that I said." She choked as she was losing the battle with her emotions. Her mother would say she was showing too much weakness but she felt like she could with Rob without judgment. Before she continued, she batted away the tear that fell. "I told him not to get in my way and that's…exactly what he did." After that, the tears began to stream down her face and that's when Rob shifted next to her and embraced her by putting an arm around her shoulders and tucking her to him with her head resting against his shoulder."Why didn't he listen to me? He should have listened to me" she mumbled through her tears as she took in his comfort.

"Us men aren't very good at listening I suppose." He joked as he squeezed her shoulders in comfort. "But more importantly, because he loved you. well, loves you. Just because someone dies doesn't mean their love dies."

"It should have been me." She muttered into his shoulder as she cried deeper.

"I highly doubt he would agree with that one. He obviously thought you were someone worthy." He said as he put his other around her, his own tear slid down his cheek at her words. "Your family and friends, especially your son, would disagree with that as well."

Silence took over for a few minutes as he let her cry out her pain. "We are all here for you Regina and that includes me, Henry, Maleficent, Emma, and even her charming parents."

Upon those words, she looked up, gathered herself together, and wiped away the tear tracks with the back of her hands. "I know. They even invited me to dinner tonight but I just couldn't bare to go.

"Why is that?" He inquired with interest.

Looking out at the water, she took a deep breath before she explained. "Whenever I look at them or I am with them, I see everything I have lost and everything I don't have. Emma has Hook back and Snow has charming. It seems things always work out for them, even if they do something wrong. I know they are there for me but how can they truly understand what I am going thru. They have their true loves and mine is gone. I feel like a 3rd or 5th wheel and all I do is ache for him all the more."

"I hear you." He replied softly, without judegment, as they continued to sit there for a few more moments staring out at the waterfall in silence. A little while later, he pulled back a smidge in order to look at her as she raised her eyes to him. "It's getting late, why don't we pack up and make our way back. I believe I owe someone dinner." He commented to lighten the mood.

Chuckling a little with a small smile, she nodded and they proceeded to get up. They packed up their small picnic and went over to load the horses, who were grazing and drinking from the lake lazily. Before she mounted, she looked at the oasis once again and thought that she would definitely be coming back here again.

It didn't take them long to reach the stables once again. After they arrived, her and rob preceded to de saddle the horses and feed them. AS they were doing this, Lucien Lauren notable stable manager and trainer, exited from his office and approached her.

"Madame mayor. It's good to see you. May I have a moment?" he asked as he reached his hand out to shake hers. This got Rob's attention as he listened to them with peaked interest and he continued to groom his horse, not looking towards them.

She took his hand in greeting. "Please Lucien, just Regina."

"Right of course. I am actually glad I ran into you. It's been awhile since I have seen you here. There's something I have to let you know." He responded to her as they ended their hand shake.

"Is everything alright?" She asked, concern in her voice.

"Yes, it's actually about Blackjack here." Lucien replied as he petted the horse muzzle.

"Is everything ok with him. He rode great today. He's a great horse." She replied with concern in her voice as she too pet him on her neck.

" I'm glad you think so. He is a great horse. A little stubborn but once he trusts a person, you won't have a horse more loyal. That's why Robin thought he was the perfect horse for you."

Rob continued to silently listen as he groomed his horse and smiled at Regina's shock and the horse trainer's next words.

"What?" she breathed out in shock as she watched Lucien take papers out from a folder and presented them to her. "Well, Robin thought it was a perfect match, so much so, he bought—well more like bartered and worked at the stables in order to get him for you."

As she reached for the papers, she cursed herself for getting emotional again as she looked at his signature as the person paying for the horse and her name written in his messy script as Blackjack's new owner. Her hand was over her mouth in disbelief as how he could do this for her. "I don't understand…"

"He had some gold and jewels to trade in order to pay for him. What that didn't cover, he worked at the stables to pay for, which was usually when you guys were chasing the Dark Swan around. He wanted to surprise you himself, but…well…with everything that happened, he never got to."

"So he's mine?" she questioned with a shaky voice.

"All yours and I hope you accept because if your performance today is anything to go by, you and Blackjack are indeed the perfect match. He really took to you and he doesn't do that easily." Lucien explained to her.

Regina took a moment to contemplate her decision as she looked down at the paperwork. As she did this, with a gentle hand, she caressed her fingers over her Thief's signature with reverence. For whatever unknown reason, he wanted her to have this horse. Maybe because he knew she just loved to ride and there was a time in her life when it was the only place she felt free or maybe it was because he wanted to make sure she was never truly alone. Even in death, he is maybe always looking out for her. There was clearly only one decision to make. "ok." She responded looking up at Lucien with a wide smile and small laugh. "I guess I am horse owner again."

"Great!" Lucien clapped his hands together. "As you know we will help you to take good care of him here. I'll always willing help to train him too. He's a magnificent horse. And let us know if you ever want to order something special for him."

"Right. Thanks." Regina responded, still shocked, before Lucien turned and went back into his office, nodding at Rob, who was leaning against the wall, in silence understanding as he went by.

After she watched Lucien retreat, she folded up the papers that claimed her as Blackjack's owner, put them in her jeans pocket, and turned to Blackjack, petting and then leaning against his muzzle. "Did you hear that Boy, we are partners." She whispered to him with tears in her eyes and a wide smile her on face. Blackjack nuzzled her and then whipped his head up and down in excited. Regina giggled in excitement and then conjured one her coveted red apples for him as a treat, which he gladly devoured. With one more pet, she then turned and noticed Rob watching her as he casually leaned against the stable walls. With a new light in her eyes, she approached him and put her hands in her back pockets. "It looks like Blackjack is all mine." She said giddy with excitement.

Rod nodded. "A match made in heaven if you ask me and made even more evident by your display today."

She blushed at this comment before she replied, looking up at him. "It's almost like he's watching over me."

Rob ruminated a moment before he responded to her comment. "Indeed he is, Regina. He's with you, always and even if you don't know it, right next to you." She bite her lip before she nodded in response and he continued before she could say anything else. "Now why don't we get him cleaned up and back into his stable for the night. I believe I have a dinner to buy for you."

"That's right loser." She said as she made an L with her fingers and held it up to her forehead at him with a gloating smile.

After he chuckled at her, he took her hand from her forehead and guided her back to her new horse. They finished taking the riding gear off of him, groomed, and fed him. Regina even conjured up one more apple for him as well. Once they made sure he was comfortable, they then left the stables, said goodbye to Lucien, and made their way towards her Mercedes. Before they climbed in, he smiled at her over the roof of the car.

"What?" she asked curiously?

"I met my goal today?" he said back happily.

"And what was that?" she questioned further as she leaned on the car, arms crossed on top of the roof.

"I got you to smile and laugh today." He stated simply and went to get into the car before she could respond. With a roll of her eyes, she too climbed into the driver's seat and said to him as she started the car and then turned towards him, "Time to buy me my steak, loser." Once again, she made an L with her fingers and held it up to forehead, mouthing loser as she did so.

Rob just laughed with her.

Please please please review. They are gold to us writers. I sincerely want to know what you think and if I should continue.

Next chapter: Week 2-Ride Free


	7. Chapter 7: Week 2- Ride Free

AN: thanks for the faves, follows, and reviews. As always, don't be afraid to review and tell me what you think of this story. It's the only way I can continue to make it better or keep writing what you like. As always stick with me. Unlike adam, when I say have hope, I mean it.

Chapter 7:Week 2- Ride Free

 _You're not alone  
Together we stand  
I'll be by your side  
You know I'll take your hand  
When it gets cold_

 _And it feels like the end  
There's no place to go  
You know I won't give in  
No, I won't give in_

 _Keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through  
We'll make it through  
Just stay strong  
'Cause you know I'm here for you  
I'm here for you  
There's nothing you could say  
Nothing you could do  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth  
So keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through  
We'll make it through_

 _Avril Levine-Keep Holding On_

Granny's was busy as ever on Saturday for the AM breakfast rush. Red and other waitresses were running around taking orders, refilling coffee mugs, and serving more eggs than an actual hen house could actually house. Forks and knives clinked against dishes as the patrons ate while their conversations and laughing ricocheted off the 80's themed walls.

Sipping on her own cup of coffee and munching on her brown sugar oatmeal, Regina waited for her "new friend" to make his appearance. He was late this time for whatever rendezvous he had planned for today. Again, he had yet to tell her what they were doing on this Saturday. Her hatred of surprises hadn't changed but she figured what she have to lose. If she is honest with herself, she also enjoyed spending time with Rob, but she would never admit that to him.

Henry was with Emma today and the last thing she wanted to do was stay in that big mansion by herself. During the week, Henry made being in the big house bearable and they seemed to develop a sort of routine for the summer. While he slept in, she got ready and headed into work a little earlier so she wouldn't have to stay in the office so late. Being 13, Henry was old enough to stay in the house by himself. So he would get up and go hang about Granny's, the library, or hang out with his friends whom he hasn't spent a lot time with due to everything that happened in town. Then every afternoon he would meet her for lunch.

Regina knew Henry was worried about her and she appreciated that but he needed time to be a kid. So she would always shoo him away with a small smile after lunch to spend time just being a teenage kid; however, she always left the office 3 PM to go home. Since she came into this world, she always had a love for cooking. So after work, she would always come home to prepare dinner that they would share that evening.

Staying busy with Henry helped her to cope throughout the day. That sharp pain was dulled to something manageable to help her get through the day. Rob even was a big help as they talked and texted throughout the days and evenings during the week. Nights, on the other hand, were the hardest. For whatever reason, she was always cold and the pain of not having Robin around was sharpest around this time. That's when she felt him missing the most. The whispered conversations, kisses, hugs, and the intimacy were no longer there. Honestly, what she missed the most is his reassurances, just having someone to tell the events of her day, and him actually caring.

"Regina!" She jumped at Snow's voice, not realizing someone was there.

"God snow, do you always have to sneak up on people and scare them to death." Regina scolded as she picked up her coffee and took a sip.

"Sorry." Snow replied as she leaned against the booth Regina was seated in. "How are you? We haven't really heard from you all week."

"Fine." Regina said, waving her off with her hand.

"Henry with Emma already? Want us to join you for breakfast?"

Ready to reject her invitation, Regina was about to reply when someone spoke ahead of her.

"I don't think that will be necessary." Rob interjected as he too leaned against the booth, looking smooth in his black button down shirt, leather jacket, dark wash jeans, and what looked to be black motorcycle riding boots. "We had plans to meet for breakfast and I was running just a bit late. Sorry about that." He apologized as he looked towards Regina.

" . Well you two enjoy your breakfast." A little shocked, she then turned away and went to join David at another table.

"Thanks." Regina whispered to Rob after Snow walked away. "The last thing I need is to watch them make "gaga" eyes at each other."

"I think they should realize you don't want to be 3rd wheel on their breakfast date. It's not a problem." Rob said as he reached to steal a strawberry from her oatmeal. "What are friends for?" As he was chewing, one of his infamous smug smiles crept over his lips.

"You are still so irritating." Regina spat back as rolled her eyes and took another spoonful of oatmeal and swallowed. "And get your own breakfast!"

Chuckling at her, rob grabbed the menu and started to peruse his options. "Any recommendations, your majesty?"

Taking a moment, she pondered his question and knew her answer without a doubt. "The apple pancakes."

He nodded. "Then apple pancakes it is." As he agreed, he dropped the menu and waited for the waitress to come over.

"So, can you tell me what we are doing today yet?"

"Patience is a virtue, Regina." He answered with a wink

Rolling her eyes again, she responded. "I don't have much patience Outlaw."

"That's apparent. I think a hungry puppy has more patience than you." He teased back at her.

Scoffing, she threw her napkin at his face and he laughed at her expense with the scowl she now wore on her face.

" . I will say this, today may be a little more out of your comfort zone but, in the end, I think you'll enjoy it."

"Not even one little clue?"

"hmmmmm…ok. I'll say this. Last week you showed me how you ride; now I'll show you how I ride."

With a tilt of her head and raised eyebrow, Regina was intrigued.

After breakfast, he led her outside and waiting parked by the curb was his motorcycle. As he looked at her, he smiled and then made his way to mount the bike.

"nuh uh. Nope. Not happening." She sternly said as she crossed her arms in defiance.

Knowing this was going to happen, he snorted and shook his head towards her. "Come on. You ride those temperamental horses that could get spooked at any moment and throw you. I've actually been driving one of these for years. We had them in the Land of Untold Stories."

Raising her brow, Regina was still clearly unconvinced.

"I have more control over this than your Blackjack, even though he is a wonderful horse with you. I promise I'll keep you safe." He paused a moment to let her contemplate things before he continued. "I even got this made for you earlier in the week." Reaching into the small hatch of the motorcycle, he withdrew her own personalized motorcycle helmet. Spray painted on the front was a golden crown that was complemented by the violet, cursive writing of her name on the back.

Reaching out the helmet and shaking it at her, he continued to try and convince her to join him. "Come on. You think you feel free when you ride Blackjack, wait until how free you feel when you ride on this."

Regina sighed as he looked towards him with a tilt of her head as she seemed to reflect on his invitation. "Fine, but I am NOT wearing that bucket on my head."

"It's the law." Rob replied with a raise of one eyebrow as he held the helmet out to her again

"Since when do you care about the law?" With yet another roll of her eyes, she made her way towards him and gestured towards her clothing that consisted of her black, leather Moto jacket, T shirt, skinny jeans, and flat riding boots to match. "So I guess this is why I am dressed like one of the Hell's Angels."

"I think it suits you." He tried to charm her as she took the helmet and fastened it over her french braided hair.

"Right, ever the charmer" She scoffed in sarcasm as she mounted the bike in the passenger seat behind him, unsure of where to put her hands.

"Wrap your hands around my waist. It will be easiest for you to hold on." He directed her and she proceeded to do as told. "Just keep your hands chaste, your majesty. No funny business." He needled at her and she pinched him in reply. To which he yelped and then laughed.

"Oh did you bring the scroll?" He asked her to which she nodded her head in conferment. "Great. Because we are ditching this town for the day. Ya ready?"

"lets do this." She replied, a little nervousness behind her answer.

AS he started the bike and revved the engine, Henry ran up to them with Hooke and Emma no far behind. "Mom where are you going? And on that?" he asked.

"Going riding apparently." She answered with a shrug of her shoulders nonchalantly.

"You'll keep her safe." Henry asked Rob, concern painted in his voice.

"You bet bud." Rob answered him with confidence. "I'll protect her with my life. I'm Rob by the way."

With a smile, Henry nodded at rob and shook his hand, glad to see that someone else had her back.

"Have a good day with Emma, Henry. I will see you tomorrow." Regina told him before Rob revved the engine, put the bike into gear, and sped off with a squeal of delight from Regina.

"Awesome." Henry beamed as he watched them take off.

With the wind whipping into their faces, Rob jetted off and took them through the streets of Storybrooke. Tightening her grip on Rob, Regina watched in awe as the houses began to blur together as they sped by. Eventually the houses slowly morphed into the trees of the forest as they made their way to the town line with the leaving Stroybrooke sign coming into view

Nervous as what might happen once they crossed; Regina held her breath until they passed by the sign. Once they did, nothing happened. Neither of them forgot who they were, froze, turned into trees, and they had the scroll to get back into town. Relaxing into her seat, they both rode silently as Rob continued on through the forest with each type of tree or wildflower blurring together, creating a sea of different greens, browns, and whatever flower was interspersed between them.

After awhile, the deep forest became more sparse and opened up to a meadow filled with tall grasses and the flowers of the summer that seemed to go on for miles. The meadow then thinned out and they passed farm land after farm land with every animal you could imagine. There were more cows than anyone would count, sheep meandering through their pasture, horses ran and whinnied next to them as they zoomed by, and pigs rolled happily in the mud, not distracted by the roar of the motorcycle what so ever.

Next came the lakes, so clear it reflected the blue sky and spruces surrounding it making mirror images of each other. Mountains stood erect high in the background as the perfect back drop. It all looked like something from a painting.

After they passed the lake, the forest of Maine took again for a few miles. Had it been fall, they would be surrounded by the flaming colors of oranges, reds, and yellows. Yet it was the middle of summer and the trees were adorned with healthy green leaves, all molding together as they skyrocketed by. Rob was clearly not worried about the speed limit. Then again, he was an outlaw.

Soon, the forest thinned again to reveal the shores and beaches of Maine. The waves beat against the rocks before the earth changed to the soft sand where vacationers could be seeing enjoying all that the Maine summer had to offer. Parents could be seen sipping their drinks and lounging as they watched their kids playing in the sand or boogey boarding in the water. Couples could be seen casually walking along the shore as they held hands. Further out in the water, fishing boats could be seen, probably hoping to catch Maine's finest lobster or fish.

The beach ran for a few miles before the sand turned into large rocks again that jutted out over the water. On this side of the beach, a beautiful old lighthouse stood on a small shore behind the rocks with several docks leading into the water for people who wanted to enjoy the view or fish from the safety of them.

Rob continued on and showed no signs of slowing down. Inwardly, Regina wondered what he had planned. Did he want to ride all day or did he have plans to stop somewhere. He was right that riding on the motorcycle was freeing, if not more so than riding a horse. The roar of the motor was oddly relaxing.

After about 20 more miles, they came through a small town much like Storybrooke where mom and pop stores sold the essentials and everyone knew each other in town. Once they reached the outskirts of town, Rob slowed down as he they approached an old wooden structure that was a bar called Big Mike's. He turned in and parked the bike into an open space.

Regina gawked at the rundown, old bar. "This is where we are going?" She asked with apprehension in her voice.

"This is a good place. Trust me. Good food, apparently a good selection of music ranging from old rock music to country, and all are welcome."

"How do you know all of this?" Her voice was dripping with suspect as she got off the bike, took off her helmet, and smoothed her hair down.

Rob chuckled as he followed suit and also got off the bike and removed his helmet. "This world has something called Yelp. Someone said this in something called a review."

Sniggering, Regina put her helmet in the hatch. "I do know about that yes." Pausing, she looked towards the building again, contemplating if this was a good idea. But rob said it had good reviews and hell, at this point, what do they have to lose. If it sucks, they can just leave. "Alright Outlaw. It's your head if this blows. Lets go. I am parched."

Nodding his head, Rob followed as they made their way into the bar. The cool air of the conditioner blasted their faces and the loud music and chatter assaulted their ears as they opened the door. For early in a Saturday afternoon, the place was hopping. Most tables were taken as people sipped on their drinks, talked animatedly with one another, and nibbled on whatever piece of fried heaven they ordered. A group of bikers relaxed in the corner as they cooled down and refueled before they began to ride again. Men and women both crowded around the open spaces at the bar to order their next drink while the people sitting enjoyed whatever sports show was on the television. The dance floor was crowded with people whooping, couples dancing together, gaggles of girls dancing in a group, and some men watching on trying to be brave enough to ask them to dance.

Glancing around, Rob saw a small table for two and led Regina towards it. Pulling out a chair, he let Regina sit down.

"Oh a gentleman I see. Who knew an outlaw had it in him." She teased him as she looked at him over his shoulder.

"I'm just full of surprises, your majesty. Now, what can I get you to drink?"

"I think you should know by now. Whiskey on the rocks."

"Right of course." He laughed before he made his way to the bar. "I'll get us drinks while you look over the menu for anything good to eat."

Regina watched as he made his way through the crowd and wriggled his way through to the bar to get their drinks. While she waited for him to come back, she took off her coat, hung it over the chair, and then picked up the menu to look at what was available to order.

After a few minutes, he came back and placed her drink on the table as he sat down. "Anything look good?" He asked.

She shrugged her shoulders while she grimaced and took a sip of her drink. "Your typical bar food. I'm not very hungry as of yet."

"Alright." He replied as he too took a sip of his drink and turned to glance at the dance floor. Then an idea popped up in his head and turned back towards Regina with a lopsided grin on his face. "I think I know just how to work up an appetite, your majesty."

"And what's that?" She asked as she tipped her head in curiosity.

"I say we hit the dance floor!"

"Nope. Nu huh. Not happening." Regina shook her head in opposition as she sipped her drink.

"Come on it'll be fun."

"Not for me. I can't dance." She shyly admitted to him.

"Neither can I. We can look ridiculous together. Come on!." He then proceeded to stand up and held out his hand to her. She just stayed in her seat stubbornly. "ok I'll make this deal. I'll dance and If I can't make you laugh, you don't have to dance. But If I make you laugh, you have to dance with me."

With a furrow of her brow, she ruminated his offer, knowing it took her a lot to smile these days—let alone make her laugh. "Ok outlaw." With her answer, she took his hand and let him lead her to the dance floor. Just as they reached it, the song they were playing ended and a new one began to start. Timber by Kesha began to blare through the speakers.

"oh man. I love this song!" Rob whooped as the song began with it's instrumental intro.

With her arms crossed in front of her, Regina watched as Rob began to dance—well try to dance. His arms and legs began to flail in what he thought was in time to music. His hips just wriggled faster out of time as the music began to pick up. This continued for a few more seconds of the song and as time went on it looked like he was having a seizure rather than dancing. It was rather a funny site. Biting her lip, she had to keep from laughing. Trying to win the bet, Rob kept making funny faces while he was dancing; however, Regina was ever so stubborn and held strong as he continued with his ridiculous dance moves.

Until Rob decided to get fancy and tried to do a slick turn. Whether the floor was wet or he tripped over his own two feet, she will never know. Either way, he ended up falling straight onto his ass and then somehow tumbled over onto his front. Regina puffed out a laugh but put her palm over her mouth to try to squash it, but it quickly was a lost battle once he was fully flat on his arse.

Unable to hold it back any longer, An open mouthed, deep belly laugh that echoed off the bar walls escaped from Regina. She bent over as she was unable to control her laughter anymore. Laughing so much, her abdomen began to hurt. At some point, Rob made it to a sitting position with his knees flexed and elbows resting on them and he watched in amusement at Regina's glee.

Once she was able to control herself, she was red with something mixed with laughter and embarrassment as she realized how loud her laughing was. Covering her mouth with her forearm, she continued to chuckle as she looked at him.

"You lose majesty." He looked towards her as he got to his feet. "A deal is a deal." After that he reached his hand out in order to lead her on the dance floor.

With a roll of her eyes, she took his hand reluctantly. Maybe it was time for her to just have some fun. "Fine. It's not like I'll ever see these people again anyways."

So for the next few hours they danced horribly together and they laughed. A range of music played on the stereo, everything from rock to pop to country. With the other people on the dance floor, they lined danced, two stepped, did the thriller, do see dosed, and did other popular dances. When they got tired, they took a break and shared burgers and sweet potato fries. After toasting with a shot, they went back to flailing on the dance floor together. In a moment, everything seemed to slow down for a minute as her and Rob danced around, she couldn't remember another time where she had this much fun and just let go, not caring about anyone's criticisms or judgments. Well, there were other times and that was with Robin.

After sometime she got tired and decided she needed a break and walked off the dance floor to slump in a chair. Within a few moments, as she was wiping her brow, Rob smacked down another whiskey in front of her and had a glass of water for himself. Apparently he had needed a break too. "Only water, outlaw?" she teased him as he knew he was just trying to be responsible since he was driving.

"I did promise your boy I would keep you safe." Pausing a moment, he took a sip of his water before he continued his thought. "You're precious cargo."

His sentiment seemed very sincere and she appreciated that he seemed to generally care about her. Not many people really seemed to and herself loathing always came through as she scoffed as she raised her brow and looked down. "Right, such precious cargo—the Evil Queen."

"Regina…look at me." Ever so stubborn, she wouldn't look up so he knocked his fist against the table to get her to look at him. With a flip of her fringe that fell from her braid, she meets his empathetic look. "I too know what it's like to feel nothing but self loathing and I hope one day you realize your worth because your boy, family, friends, me, and of course your Robin saw it."

Fidgeting in her seat, Regina clearly was becoming uncomfortable as he seemed to read right through her. There is only one other person who could do that and he had died for her—no because of her. "Maybe." She mumbled in reply, wanting to skip this conversation all together.

Not oblivious to her discomfort, rob just nodded and backed off from the conversation. The two sat in silence after that for awhile until Rob happened to glance down at his watch, his eyes going wide in surprise. "Oh my god I didn't realize the time." He said quickly as he got up and threw his coat back on over his long sleeve button down. Then he went around and slid out Regina's chair. "Come on, there's something I want to show you and it's a must see. It's sort of a time sensitive matter."

Regina peered over her shoulder at rob as he helped her put her moto jacket back on. "Where are we going now? Let me guess, you can't tell me either?" exacerbation coated her words.

"Nope. For me to know and for you to find out." He replied as she shook her head in annoyance and then he proceeded to lead them back outside. Hours had clearly passed as it looked like the sun would be setting soon. After they had both clicked their helmets in place, they mounted the bike. "Hang on your majesty, brace yourself." With that he zoomed off back through the little town and onto the road that lead through the forest

The trees started to thin out and she could tell they were heading back to the shore of the ocean. "We're going back to the water?" She yelled over the roar of the engine in question.

"Yup!" He shouted back towards her. "You thought it was gorgeous was before. Wait until you see it now. It's nothing like you've ever seen. True magic." Just another mile up the road, the rocks of the shore came into view followed by the docks and lighthouse. Rob turned on the gravel road that led down to the beach that ran adjacent to the dock said lighthouse. That was when everything came into view.

The sun and its colors surrounding it were indeed gorgeous and magical. Bright yellows turned into warm oranges that morphed into fiery hues of red and then petal pinks. Just beyond that, with the mix of clouds, there seemed to be a violet hue that surrounded the periphery of the other colors. It was indeed picturesque.

Too engrossed by the display in front of her, Regina hadn't even realized that rob stopped the bike and had gotten off until he cleared his throat. So Regina then got off, took off her helmet, placed it in the hatch, and followed Rob as they made their way to the end of the dock. The ocean waves were out in front of them with the lighthouse to their left and the shore to their back and right. The waves lapped at the legs of the dock before they crashed into the rocks and sand behind them. Seagulls squawked as they flew overhead with the wind driving through their flapping winds. That same wind brushed across their faces as it carried the scent of the brackish waters through their senses.

Standing on the end of the dock, they leaned against the railing on their elbows as they took in the site before them without a word. Maybe the silent comfort is what they both needed. Especially Regina, because in this moment all she could think about was Robin and how she wished he was here. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and tried to hold back the tears but it was a lost cause as once escaped and cascaded down her cheek, leaving it's track as evidence she could not deny. Of course, Rob was not obtuse and noticed. It was when he took his forefinger and gently wiped the tear away in an upsweeping motion that caused her to look over at him, obvious friendly concern on his face. "You alright?" he asked in a whisper.

"No...I'm not, alright…And I don't know if I will ever be alright." She answered more honestly than she intended to. For the most part it just slipped out. Maybe she was just tired of holding everything in and pretending to be ok because she wasn't. Rob, her son, and friends—when she could stomach them—served as a good distraction throughout the day but nights were when she fell apart. Nights spent alone in a cold and empty bed were the worst.

"What's going through that pretty little head of yours?" He asked, giving her the chance to open up if she wanted to. "Like I said Regina, I'm here for you. It's not good for you to keep everything in and to yourself. You'll receive no judgment from me and I'll never be one to think you weak." He said sincerely, and that seemed to get her attention as he watched her take a deep breath.

"Seeing this and knowing such beauty exists makes me want to believe that God, or Gods, exist too. If they do, then maybe Hades lied because why would the Gods create something that would obliterate someone's soul out of existence if they created something this breathtaking. Especially someone's soul as good and decent as robin's was." Tears began to stream uncontrollably down her face and that this point and she had to take a choking breath before she continued. "It makes me want to believe that Hades lied and Robin is in a better place. It's not fair that such a decent man was obliterated, as if he never existed"

At this point Regina sniffed back more tears as Rob put an arm around her shoulders in comfort before he let her continue to talk, looking out towards the sunset. "It's not fair that two children will grow up fatherless. It's not fair that his Merry Men lost a brother. It's not fair that he died because of my karma and paid the price for my karma and loving me. He died because he loved me. My love is toxic."

At that last statement, Rob abruptly took her by the shoulders and turned her towards him. "You look at me when I say this to you, Regina Mills." Ever so stubborn, Regina kept her gaze over the ocean water. Getting frustrated, Rob shook her lightly by the shoulders and that got her attention and she turned her head towards him. "Your love is not toxic. Robin didn't die because he loved you. He died to protect you because he thought you were worth protecting."

With a shake of her head, Regina batted the tears away as she gulped down the lump forming in her throat. "I'm not worth it. Not when he has left behind his two children and his men. It should have been me repaying my own karma. Not him."

Rob squeezed her shoulders in comfort. "I highly doubt he would agree with the part about you not being worth that sacrifice. And—"

Regina cut him off quickly. "He probable hates me…if his soul still exists"

"That I am sure is quite untrue and his saving you was an act of true love Regina. How can that not be rewarded?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Regina looked up at him in defeat, not knowing how to respond and wondering if that could be a possibility. Not removing her gaze from his, Regina looked at Rob intently as he went on to ask her a question. "As far as karma goes, do you not think it possible that maybe Robin had some of his own karma to repay?"

"What do you mean?" Regina asked with a confused scrunch of her face, unsure what he was getting at.

"No one is perfect, Regina. We all have darkness in our past. No one goes unscathed and In our worlds' most had blood on their hands. Did he ever tell you of his past?"

Regina grimaced at his question as she answered. "There was a time he alluded to something but we never got around to talking about it with all the crap that went on. There was a lot we didn't get to talk about." Right then another tear slipped out as Regina thought about all they never got to talk about, all they never got to do, and all they never will do together. They never even got the chance to just be.

"Maybe one day you'll learn and see that he had his own price to pay and that certainly was not for loving you." He paused a moment as he took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze in comfort. "If there's one thing I do think, is that he's with you always, right here." He takes his finger and points to her heart. "He exists there, always will, and he exists in his children and his friends. No magic can take that away.

Regina just scrunches her face to keep herself from crying because he was right about that, she would never forget him and she would make sure his children knew of him, especially his daughter. Roland will always know of him through the Merry Men. Rob then stepped forward and pulled her by the hand he was clutching into a contented hug. "One last thing I know—"

"You sure know a lot. Quite sure of yourself, Outlaw." Regina quipped at him as Rob chuckled, glad to see her sass returning.

"I know this because I would want the same thing for someone I love." He paused as he swallowed and rubber her back in a friendly manner. "Even if I weren't around, I would want them to be happy and I am sure that is what your Robin would want for you."

Regina pulled back with a sad smile. "That doesn't feel possible. Not truly. Not completely." It could never be complete because Robin was supposed to be a part of her happy ending. Without him, she wasn't sure she would ever feel completely at home in the world.

Cupping her chin with his forefinger and thumb, he responded to her with sincerity in his voice. "Take solace in your family and son. And as I said before, I am here for you too as a friend. Keep holding on, stay strong, and keep your chin up because someday there will be happiness again." His hand gently cupped her cheek as he wiped away the remnants of her tear tracks.

"You can't promise that." Responding with defeat in her voice, she looked back towards the water and leaned against the railing of the dock, obviously wanting this conversation to end.

"No but I can sure as hell try to make you smile and be there whether you need to talk or a distraction. I think I am doing a good job of that so far" He replied replied smugly as she rolled her eyes at him and then proceeded to affably drape his arm over her shoulders as he pointed with his chin towards the sunset. "Just wait a few more minutes, and then the real magic happens. I have never seen anything like it."

So they stood in amicable silence until the sun was just barely above the shore line and what she saw had her jaw dropping. For just a quick moment, the sky glowed this beautiful enchanting purple before the sun finally descended and the navy blue of the nighttime sky with sprinkles of stars took over. A smile took over Regina's face. "Wow."

"See I told you—Magical."

"How did you know about this?" she asked

Rob shrugged his shoulders lightly and said matter of factly. "Google." To which Regina just chuckled in response.

"Come on your majesty, better be getting you home. It's getting late and we still have a little bit of ride back to Storybrooke."

So they casually made their way back to the bike and settled in for the ride home but Regina's interest had been peaked while they talked on the dock and she just had to ask before they began their ride. "You said that most have darkness in their past and blood on their hands…Do you?"

"Yes." He stated simply and started the engine before Regina could ask him for further details. After revving the engine, he then sped up the gravel that led to the main road that would take them home.

The whole ride home, Regina was curious as to what Rob's past contained. He seemed uneasy about sharing and she could more than understand that. But maybe one day, he would feel comfortable enough to share. For now, his story was still untold.

As always please feel free to review. They are gold. Pleeeeaaassseeee! I'm gonna try to update soon but don't know when that will be as I work more this week and I will be away for the holiday. Maaaaaybe Thursday if I get some time to write over the next few days. If not then probably after the holidays.

Next Chapter: Week 3- The "Demon" Barber of Fleet Street


	8. Ch 8:Wk3-The Demon Barber of Fleet St

AN: I want to make something clear, Rob is NOT Regina's 3rd true love. I couldn't stomach that. I would call this True friendship. This is part of the fic that tells a story of friendship, camaraderie, and support. I think when all is revealed people will look back at this part and really love it. Stick with me please and I don't think you'll regret it. No beta, so all mistakes are my own. Please excuse them.

To answer Guest Reviewer Redd—This is a fix it fic but not in that way. Yes baby Robin is in this story as in canon and that will not be fixed. Infact, near the end of the story I want to show how this could have been written better and how Regina and Robin should have had one measly scene discussing it. But baby Robin will not be the focus so I hope you continue to read.

Chapter 8: Operation Fun Week 3- The "Demon" Barber of Fleet Street

 _Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around  
Nothing's gonna harm you, no sir, not while I'm around  
Demons are prowling everywhere nowadays  
I'll send them howling  
I don't care, I got ways  
No one's gonna hurt you,  
No one's gonna dare  
Others can desert you,  
Not to worry, whistle, I'll be there!  
Demons'll charm you with a smile, for a while,  
But in time...  
Nothing can harm you  
Not while I'm around...  
Being close and being clever  
Ain't like being true  
I don't need to,  
I would never hide a thing from you,  
Like some...  
No one's gonna hurt you, no one's gonna dare  
Others can desert you,  
Not to worry, whistle, I'll be there!  
Demons'll charm you with a smile, for a while  
But in time...  
Nothing can harm you  
Not while I'm around...  
Not While I'm Around-Sweeney Todd_

Regina stood on the outskirts of the grave yard, glued to her spot. It had been awhile –since she passed out in front of it actually—that she had visited Robin's grave. Not wanting to believe he was really gone, she had avoided coming to visit his resting place. Now she felt she was ready and that she just really needed to talk to him, even though he wouldn't be able to say anything back.

With a deep breath, she forced her feet forward and made her way towards his grave. When she thought about seeing his headstone again, she thought she would be able to keep it together but she was so wrong. His name and words loving father and soulmate came into view and she knew she wouldn't be able to control her tears. After she reached it, she plopped down in front and let the tears fall into the grass that was starting to grow where mud used to be.

After she took a few moments to just cry, she collected herself and tried to swallow back her tears with a shaky breath. "Hi…Robin." She started as she wiped her sleeve across her nose. "I know I haven't been here in awhile and I'm sorry about that. It's selfish but I just couldn't come. I didn't want to believe you are really gone. When I come home from work, I keep expecting you to come out from the kitchen looking sheepish because you had burnt something in the oven or on the stove top." Sadly, she chuckled as she picked at the grass.

"I miss you…terribly. Nights are the hardest. I feel your loss the most then and I'm always cold." Another tear fell and she tried to shut her eyes to keep anymore from falling before she continued with a shiver. "I'm sorry, Robin, I'm so sorry. I hope you at least found some peace somewhere." Now she couldn't control the tears anymore as they steadily dropped down her cheeks, knowing what Hades said and how that probably wasn't the truth. "Please forgive me. It should have been me. I should have been brave enough to take that lightning bolt so you could have been here with your children." One of her palms came up automatically to her mouth to quiet her sobs.

A loud rustle from the trees and the crows flying up from braches with thundering caws caused her to jump. "I don't know if you can hear me Robin but a part of me hopes you can." She began again as she continually looked down and picked at the grass. "I guess I just feel I needed to talk to you. I miss that. Even the simple things like sharing how our day went together." Sighing, she looked up at the cloudy sky for a moment and then looked back at his tombstone. "I made a new friend…don't worry that's all he'll ever be…I'm not sure I'll ever be able to love again, even though you may eventually want me to. I gave you my heart a long time ago and it's buried 10 feet below with you."

Puffing out a breath, she adjusted herself so her legs were out to her side and she leaned against her hand on the grass. "He's trying to show me how to have fun and smile again. You'd probably like him if you were here. The first time he took me riding and while there I discovered that you were your sneaky self, thief, and bought me a horse. He's beautiful by the way. I think it's a perfect match." She said with a small, sad smile. "Last week he took me riding on his motorcycle. It was fun. He showed me this beautiful sunset and when I saw it I had to believe that if the Gods created something so beautiful then maybe Hades lied and you got to move on…Rob—that's his name—says that what you did was an act of true love, so how could you not be rewarded. I guess that's something to hang on to."

After a moment of silence, she brought her hand up to his tombstone and gently caressed his name. "Henry is doing well. I think he misses having you around though. He's got me, Emma, and the charmings, but I think he was beginning to look to you as a positive male role model. Lord knows that pirate isn't one." She scoffed and grimaced as she said pirate. "Your daughter is beautiful. Looks just like you. Has your dimples and everything. She's growing so fast. I know she would have you wrapped around her little finger" With a sad chuckle, she held up her pointer finger.

"Roland is with the Merry Men in Sherwood Forest. We all felt that would be best so he could know where he is from and that is what you have wanted." Swallowing, she stared down at her open sweaty palms. "But now I am not so sure. Is a place torn apart by a curse and rampant with goblins and ogres a place to raise a child? I think about it and wonder if you would have wanted all of us to help raise him, including me." She whispered hesitantly at the last part. "We never got a chance to talk about it."

Pausing for a moment, she centered herself for what she was about to say and the reason she came. "There was so much we never got to talk about and things we never got to say…and my biggest regret…is never getting to tell you how much I love you. I'm sorry I was too afraid to tell you but I do Robin I love you so much and I don't know if you can hear me now. And I'll never get to hear those words back. I know you love me. You must have to jump in front of that retched lightning bolt for me but oh how I long to say it and hear it back" she cried as she rambled on and then she shifted herself to lay on the ground, cheek against the grass. "I love you, Robin Hood." She whispered with the utmost sincerity and reverence.

Regina continued to lay for there, for how long she was unsure. The sun had peaked out as she shivered with coldness in her soul. For a moment, she wondered if Robin was up there watching over her and had the sun come out to try and warm her skin but it was a lost cause, she continued to shiver.

After she collected her emotions and felt like she had the strength, she picked herself up off the ground and reached for the flowers that sat next to her to place them in front of his tombstone. "I brought these for you—sunflowers. I know they're your favorite." After they were placed, she stood and looked down at them. "I'll be back next week. I promise I won't stay away so long this time." Bringing her palm up, she kissed it and pressed it against the cold granite, letting it linger a moment. "I love you." As she turned on her heels, she sighed and made her way back to her car. It was Saturday and she was soon due to meet Rob.

As she got in her Mercedes, there was a rustle in that same tree as before. Then legs dangled down and swung a bit until they dropped to the floor with a clunk. Landing in a crouched position, his hands braced his landing before he returned to a standing position. Rob watched with a solemn expression across his face as he watched her leave.

 **An Hour Later…**

Rob and Regina stood on the side walk looking up at the storefront sign above the windows.

"So this is your idea of fun." Regina asked sarcastically as she crossed her arms in front of her as she continued to stare at the sign. "Taking me to the barber who is known to slit his clients' throats, I'd be safer with Edward Scissor Hands."

"He's just down the street." Rob pointed with his thumb over his shoulder. "If you'd rather?"

Regina snapper her head towards him with wide eyes. "Really?"

"No." Rob chuckled, eyes squinting into the sun as he looked towards her. "Like a lot of stories in this realm, including yours, they got Sweeny Todd's all wrong."

Hmming, she nodded her head and urged him to continue.

"Yeah he may have slit a few throats but his life didn't meet the tragic end the tales of this land made people to believe."

With a raised of her brow, Regina snarked back "Oh so he didn't kill his one true love?"

"Oh no that he did." Rob sniggered. " He was tricked but he was able to get away from that boy and Mrs. Lovett. Actually ended up reuniting with his daughter and her love, Anthony. "

"How do you presume to know all of this Outlaw?"

"They actually had a shop quite like this in the land of untold stories. Sweeney, his daughter Johanna, and her husband Anthony run the joint. I'm a client of his and we became friends while stuck in the wrenched land."

Turning towards him with her hands on her hips, she questioned him. "YOU'RE a client of his?" To which Rob just nodded in response. "Well you may want to get a refund and he may want to sharpen his blade because you look like an ape with that beard."

Laughing, Rob rubbed his jaw. "I could use a touch up but we're not here for me today?"

"Then why are we here?" She shot back quickly in annoyance. This man was incapable of giving a straight answer.

With one of those irritating grins, he looked back to her. "For you."

"Me?" She responded in exasperation as she pointed her herself.

"Yes you. I think it's time for a change. You're always looking for a way to reinvent yourself and sometimes a good hair cut makes someone feel better. Not to mention a bit of pampering, which you deserve. And Sweeney here is top notch. He won't let you down." As he finished, Rob stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets.

She didn't respond right away and continued to stare at the sign, the mid day light of the sun causing her to squint slightly. It had been awhile since she got her hair trimmed, so she was well over due. When she had come over with the curse, her hair was cut short to try and distance herself from the queen. For the last couple of years, she had begun growing her hair out once again. It took her sometime to realize after the second curse was broken that she self consciously did that for Robin.

During the missing year, they had developed a sort of friendly partnership that lead to some steamy nights. In the middle of the night, she would wake up to him caressing and tangling his fingers through her longer locks. Maybe his love of her hair was once of the reasons but she also wanted something different. So maybe it was time for change once again and Robin wasn't around anymore to tangle his fingers through it. "OK Outlaw. What have I got to lose? But I swear to God if he makes me look like a nut case then I will shave your head bald." Regina threatened as she pointed her finger at him, emphasizing that she meant business.

With a bow, Rob responded with a smug grin on his face. "Of course your majesty but I think I would still look rather dashing with a bald head." To which Regina just scoffed in irritation and a roll of her eyes as she crossed her arms in defiance. "Come on, Regina. Sweeney won't steer you wrong. I promise."

With a furrow of her brow, she just looked at him with suspicion.

" Have I lead you wrong yet?" Rob asked

"I guess not." Regina muttered in defeat. "Lets go."

They sauntered into "Sweeney's: Barber of Fleet Street" and were immediately welcomed by a beautiful young girl at the desk, who obviously knew Rob well. "Rob! Long time no see!" The young girl screamed in excitement as she made her way around the desk and leaped at him for a hug.

"Johanna! I'm good. How are you guys taking to this realm?" Rob asked as he returned the hug.

"Great! There are so many things this realm has that ours didn't. Not to mention the space and beautiful houses." Letting go of the hug, Johanna then turned and noticed Regina behind rob. "You must be Regina! Welcome. I hope you'll enjoy this afternoon with us." Stepping around Rob, Johanna went over to Regina and enveloped her in an awkward hug. "Let me get my father and we will get you started!"

Johanna called Sweeney and after a moment, he appeared from the back room. "Robert! It's great to see you. Finally come to get that beard trimmed." Sweeney joked with Rob as he gave him a brotherly hug.

"See I told you so." Regina laughed at Rob's expense.

"And who is this lovely lass?" Sweeney asked.

"Regina." She answered as she stuck out her hand to shake his in greeting. "I guess I'm the one you'll be beautifying today."

"That won't be hard to do for our queen." He flirted as he reached her for her hand and pecked the back of it. "Come lets not waste any more time and get you started. You can just have a seat up front Rob, I want her majesty all to myself." Not letting go of her hand, he led her to his station and she sat down. He then proceeded to whip a cape out with a shake and wrap it around her neck. After adjusting the cape, he un tucked her hair from it and commented. "You have lovely hair, your majesty. Why would you want to cut this?"

Fidgeting in her chair, Regina looked at him, trying to hide her discomfort and shrugged her shoulders. "Time for a change, I guess. Any suggestions?"

Running his fingers through her hair, he looked up at her with a grin. "How short are you willing to go?"

"I've had a chin length bob before." Regina replied as she brought her hand up to a little below her ears to show him. "Maybe something in between that and what I have now? You're the professional, you tell me."

An evil glint developed in Sweeney's eyes. "In that case, lets get you shampooed your majesty."

Over the next 45 minutes, Sweeney shampooed her hair, conditioned it, and then she watched as her longer locks began to fall to the floor. Upon Sweeney's recommendation, she was turned away from the mirror so her new do would be a surprise. Regina figured what did she have to lose? Hair grows. Once he was finished cutting, she could tell it was just above shoulder length and figured she could work with that. Just long enough that it could be put up if needed.

Sweeney put his scissors down on his station's table, then applied some product to her mane before he picked up the blow dryer to style it. With her hair whipping around, the two remained in silence as the blow dryer's engine roared with an echo off the walls. When her hair was dry, he picked up the straightner and began perfecting his art work. "I'm very proud of this one." Sweeney's commented with his deep voice as he pulled her hair through the tool. "What do you think Rob?" He shouted over to the man as he flipped through a motorcycle magazine.

Rob looked up at this point and said with a small smile. "Stunning…in every way."

Goosebumps arose on her skin as she took in his comment and looked over to him with wide eyes as he continued before she could comment. "Looks like I won't have to get my head shaved after all." He teased her.

"But we definitely need to clean up that beard of yours cave man." Sweeney joked back as he put his hair tool down and Regina laughed in return as he went to turn her towards the mirror. "Lets have a look shall we."

Sweeney turned her chair towards the mirror and she immediately loved what she saw in the reflection. The locks hit to the middle of her neck in a sleek long layered bob with not a hair out of place. A bright smile came across her face as she ran her fingers through it. "Sweeney, I love it. Just love it. It's exactly what I needed."

"I have made the queen smile today, my job is complete." He said as he slowly bowed his head once to her then looked over to Rob with a wink, who gave him one in return. "Now I think it's time for that manicure and pedicure."

"Really?" Regina asked with surprise in her eyes.

"Well we mine as well make a full day of it." Rob commented as he came and stood next to the chair.

"Thank you." Regina said in appreciation as Sweeney helped her from the chair and situated her into the pedicure one.

"Johanna will be taking care of your pedicure and manicure. She does an excellent job and only the best for our queen." Sweeney then turned the faucet on and put the smelling salts into the foot tub water before he called Johanna and told her that was Regina was ready for her and then gave her a wink. "Now lets go see if I can make the one over there look less like a hairy ape." To which Regina just laughed at him in return. "Good luck with that."

As he walked away, Regina watched him joke with Rob as he called him ape man, led him to the chair, and began lathering him up.

"What color did you want?" Regina jumped a little in her chair, not realizing Johanna was there with the book of colors being handed to her.

With a smile, Regina took it. "Let me see." Flipping the pages, she browsed through the painted fake nails in order to figure out which she liked best. On the last page, she saw the one she wanted and flipped it towards Johanna. "This one." She said as she pointed to the blood red color.

"That's lovely. Lets get started." Johanna said as she took one of her feet out, placed it on foot rest, and patted it dry. "You're hair cut looks lovely. My father did a nice job and I'm not saying that just because he is family."

"Thank you. I really like it." Regina replied, running her fingers through it, as Johanna continued to work.

"Lets see if he can improve Rob any." Johanna joked with a tilt of her head towards the men.

"Unlikely." Both girls laughed at Regina's comment.

" Robs cute .Are you two a thing?" Johanna questioned as she worked on the cuticles of her toenails.

"No we are just friends. I actually recently lost…" Unable to finish the thought, Regina trailed off at the end.

With a shake of her head in embarrassment, Johanna apologized. "That's right. I'm so so sorry. Small town, people talk and I heard through the grapevine about what happened. It's never easy losing or being separated from a loved one."

"You lost someone too?" Regina asked as she was truly intrigued by this woman who seemed to be around her age and felt she had a kinship with.

"Not in the same way." Johanna began to shape her nails with a file. "I had a warden, Judge Turbin, who stole me as an infant from my father and made him believe my mother was dead out of jealousy because he lusted after what he had."

"That's wretched." Regina said with honest empathy in her words.

"So he locked me away like a caged bird in my bedroom."

"I know what's that like." With a sigh, Regina nodded as she too knew what it felt like to be caged like a baby bird. "My mother was strict and she married me off to a king who kept me locked away in his cold castle."

"It seems like you and I have a lot I common." Johanna commented.

"It seems we do." With a smile, Regina nodded her head in agreement. She felt like this woman could become a sort of friend. "What happened after that? How did you get free?"

"Anthony saw me from the street as I sat looking out the window and he was apprenticing with Sweeney at the time. Eventually they were able to get me out."

With a raised brow, Regina continued to question Johanna. "And how did they do that?"

"Lets just say Judge Turbin was one of my Father's victims." She answered with an evil glint in her eye. "I wish I was there to see it."

"I bet." Understanding her answer, Regina sniggered at her response.

"How did you get free?" Johanna asked in genuine curiosity.

"I killed the bastard."

"Good for you." A grin appeared over Johanna as she replied with no judgment in her voice. The two held eye contact in silent understanding before they were interrupted.

"What are you two chit chatting about?" Rob asked as he plopped down in the pedicure chair next to them.

"None of your business, Outlaw." Regina quipped back at him as she took in his cleaned up beard. "I see Sweeney was able to make SOME improvement."

Laughing, Rob rubbed his now neatly trimmed beard and goatee. "Is that your way of saying I look dashing, your majesty?"

"In your dreams!"

Putting his hand to his heart, Rob replied in mock offense. "You wound me, Regina."

"Go cry into your pillow, Outlaw. You're ruining my zen and perfectly friendly conversation with Johanna. Who is much better company than you."

"Ouch. Fine then I'll sit here and get my pedicure in peace."

"You're getting a pedicure?" Regina asked with wide eyes and a disgusted look on her face, as if she were about to be sick. "I feel badly for ever has to touch those hooves you call feet."

"They're very manly." He defended back.

"Right keep telling yourself that, Outlaw." She scrunched her nose as if she smelled something bad. "I think I can smell them from here. Do you use soap?"

"I happen to bath daily. Granny's does have showers you know."

"Oh so you don't bath in the lake?"

Rob laughed as he commented back. "It's actually quite refreshing to bath in the lake or river."

"Only an outlaw would say that." Regina sassed back as she looked at Johanna trying to hold back a snicker at their banter as she painted her toenails.

Without further comment, Rob just laughed at her as the two finished getting their pedicures and moved onto manicures. Rob joked with them the whole time, trying to get Regina to laugh the whole time, even joking in a high pitched tone if he should get hot pink nail polish on his fingers and toes.

After they were finished, Rob tried to pay for Regina but Sweeney told him it was on the house, joking that he would have to pay double for his beard because it was so bad. After thanking them, Regina and Robin made their out of the shop.

"I like them, especially Johanna." Regina commented as they casually made their way down the street.

"They're good people, just misunderstood." Rob replied.

"Something I know all too well about." Regina looked ahead forlornly without making eye contact .

"Me too."

With that, Regina glanced over at Rob. "Unfortunately, it seems we do have a lot in common, Outlaw."

"That we do." As they continued to walk, he met her gaze and nodded.

"So what's next for today?"

"Well, I've got something I need to do but I thought we could meet up at the rabbit hole later?"

"That dump?" Regina asked, her voice laced with disgust.

"It's fun. I promise and I will keep any creepers away from you. On my honor." He held up three fingers, as if her were a boy scout. To which she rolled her eyes in response as she sassed in response, "My knight in shining armor."

"So I'll see you later?" He asked with eagerness and hope gleaming in his eyes.

"Of course, why not. What am I going to do? Sit in the house by myself." She shrugged her shoulders at him.

"Good so I'll see you later. Say 9:00?"

With a nod, she replied. "Works for me."

 **Later that Night…**

Just around 9, Regina pulled open the door to the dive bar of Storybrooke and made her way through the crown around the door. With a scrunch of her nose, she inhaled the musty smell of stale beer as she looked around for Rob. Spotting him casually sitting and sipping at a drink at the bar, she made her way over to them, her peeped toes heel sticking to the floor as she walked. "You think this place owns a mop?" She asked as she plopped down on the stool next to him and slung her Chanel purse on the back of it.

"Probably not." Rob snickered as he slid a drink in front of her. "Got this for."

"How thoughtful of you. Thanks." She paused as she downed half the drink. "How was your afternoon? Get done what you needed to?"

"For the most part, what about you?"

"Did some work I was running behind on." With a shrug of her shoulders, she cleaned off the condensation from her glass.

"You really need to learn how to relax. It's the weekend!"

"I had nothing else to do. I called Emma to see if they wanted to have a late lunch but they were out on Hook's boat. Besides I relaxed earlier at the salon." Pausing, she took another sip of her drink.

"Are you saying I relax you, your majesty?"

"In your dreams, outlaw." She replied coolly.

Sipping his drink again, he laughed as he looked her over. "You look nice tonight. With the hair and outfit, I'm going to have beat the men off with a stick. "

Looking down, she examined her snake skin print top, black skinny pants, and peep toe heels as she tugged on her shirt a little. "Please do but thank you. I didn't think you knew how to give a real compliment." She side eyed him and grinned as she took a sample of her drink.

"I'm just full of surprises." He teased back as he raised his hand to the bartender to order more drinks, realizing they were both running low.

Turning her glass in a circle on the bar top, she looked down at her drink, a little nervous to ask him more about his past. "Speaking of surprises…" She led before she turned her head to look at him. He met her gaze in return. "Last week, you had said you had some sort of dark past and blood on your own hands, what did you mean?"

Shifting in his seat uncomfortably, rob turned his head forward and took a sip of his drink, obviously thinking about how to answer.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked…"

With a raise of his palm, he cut Regina off. "You have every right to inquire by what I meant. My past is not so squeaky clean. I was a petty thief and lets say I let no one get in my way."

He left it at that, not wanting to give any further detail. She was about to open her mouth to reply when someone leaned against the bar behind her and cleared his voice, cutting her off.

"Well…well…what brings you here tonight your majesty? What a pleasant surprise." a deep conniving voice asked her, a voice she remembered all too well that still sent queasy chills down her spine. It was the Sheriff of Nottingham.

"What do you want Keith?" She asked with a short tone behind her voice.

"Just wanted to come over and say hello. See if you wanted a real man to buy you a drink?"

Shifting in her seat, she leaned more towards Rob. "No thank you. Now if you'll be on your way." She motioned with a wave of her hand.

"Come on Regina, don't be like that. I thought we could start where we left off all those years ago." Keith eyed her up as if she were a piece of meat.

With agitation in his voice, Rob tried to cut in. "I believe the lady said…" Before he could finish, Regina stopped with a squeeze of his arm, letting him know she could take care of herself.

"If you mean with you hanging over a pit of fire, then sure." Regina spat back as Rob snickered back at the image of Nottingham hanging by chains with fire only inches from his head, sweating like balls.

"Oh come on, we had chemistry you and I, just admit it." He said trying to charm her.

"If you mean you left a bad chemical stench in the air, then sure. Now please leave."

But he didn't move an inch. "I could make it worth your while, your majesty. Show you what a real man is capable of—Instead of these thieves and outlaws." With the last words, he began to slowly trace his finger up and down Regina's arm. That was when Rob saw red.

Knocking his stool to the ground with a loud thud, he jumped up from his chair and grabbed said arm then his other and held both behind his back as he dragged him away and slammed him against one of the pool tables near the bar. "I believe the lady said no!"

Wriggleing, Nottingham struggled to get free of Rob's grasp but he was really strong. "What's your problem man? I think the lady can make her decisions."

Fury was in Rob's eyes as he leered down at Nottingham. "She said no and didn't ask for your advances. So it seems I had to make you back off. Touch her one more time and I'll beat you to a bloody pulp." Rob warned him with sincerity in his raged voice.

"Please she just asks for it. She's a little slut." Nottingham spit out.

Steam almost came out of Rob's ears as he lifted him and then punched him with so much force it threw him across the pool table. That was when the bartender intervened and spilt up the fight, warning that if they continued they would be thrown out. Rob just stared, burning a hole through Nottingham, as the man cradled his jaw and one of his buddies helped him to stand up.

After one last look of disgust, he turned, picked up his fallen stool, and sat back down next to Regina, who was giving him an angry leer of her own. "What do you think you were doing?" She demanded an answer, indignation in her voice.

"I didn't like the way he was speaking to you." His face was pained as he opened and closed his fist. "I think his giant chin broke my hand."

"Serves you right." Regina said, her voice roaring with anger. "I'm not some damsel in distress. I can take care of myself."

"I know that. He just irks me and I don't like people disrespecting you." He said as he continued to clutch his hand.

"Well then you're going to have to fight half the town that still doesn't like me."

"Gladly." Rob inhaled as a sharp pain went thru his sore hand.

With a roll of her eyes, Regina reached for his hand and examined it. "You have anger issues, you know that."

"I guess when it comes to defending your honor I do."

"We should put some ice on this. It's not swelling yet so I don't think it's broken. Probably just bruised." She waved her hand and the bartender brought over a bag of ice that she laid gently against his hand, clearly avoiding what he said. "Better?"

"Yes." He replied as he laid his hand over hers and squeezed lightly. "Thank you."

"Next time don't play hero. I find that irritating." Rob laughed as she slipped her hand away and he continued to hold the ice pack on his hand. "Can we go back to having fun now?" She asked.

"Of course, where would you like to start?"

Regina raised a brow at Rob. "How about some shots?"

Over the next few hours, the two shared shots and cheesy fries. When good songs came on, they danced awfully together. Regina challenged Rob to game a pool to which they both played terribly and they ended up calling it a draw. Standing in front of the jukebox, they argued over which songs they should play. Regina thought David Bowie was the way to go while Rob couldn't help but to love the Rolling Stones. In the end, they ended up choosing songs from each band. Once they were well past the point of sober and tired, they decided to call it a night.

As Rob walked Regina back to her house, they leaned on each other to keep from falling. Eventually Rob but his arm around her shoulders and she held onto his waist. For the most part they walked in contented silence until Regina chimed in. "I'm glad you're around." She murmured.

"I'm gonna have you repeat that when you're sober." He laughed as he squeezed her shoulders.

"Less lonely when you're around." She continued to mumble into his shoulder. "And not so cold when you're around. Cold all the time now. Except if I'm wearing his hoodie or I'm around you. Iss weird."

"I'm sorry he's not here Regina. I wish I could fix that."

"No one can." She whispered sadly, a lone tear falling down her cheek.

They reached her house and he made her down some water before he guided her up the stairs to her bedroom. He pulled her covers down, took her shoes off, and laid the covers over her as she wriggled to get comfortable.

With a Sigh, she laid her head against the pillow and immediately closed her eyes.

He bent down and laid a chaste kiss on her temple. "Sweet dreams, Regina." Before he left, he saw the gray hoodie draped over her vanity chair and went to grab it to gently lay it over her to keep from getting cold. Taking one more look at her, he smiled and then left her in peace to get some sleep.

As he was making his way back to his room at Granny's, he passed Gold's shop who was stepping out and locking up. He noticed Rob walking by across the street. "Excuse me." Gold said to him as he limped his way over to Rob. "I can't help to think I've seen you before." He said with suspicion behind his tone and eyes.

"I doubt I'd ever forget meeting the dark one." Rob said back, not intimidated by him.

Gold hummed before he continued. "You see ROB-ert, names are my specialty and I am having trouble fully figuring out what yours is. Tell me what your last name is?"

"Don't have one. Threw it in the trash where it belonged." He replied, a short tone in his voice.

"I think you'll be willing to share it with me." Gold said in a warning tone.

"I'll share mine if you tell me your first name." Rob threw back at him.

"touché." Gold said back, somewhat impressed.

"Now if you'll excuse me." Rob then made his way past Gold in the direction of Grannies.

"She'll find out eventually Dearie." Gold called after Rob, causing him to stop in his tracks and look back over his shoulder. "You can't hide your past from her forever."

"I don't take kindly to threats, dark one." Rob grumbled at Gold. "To me and especially to her." Not waiting for a reply, Rob made his way up the steps to Granny's, trying to figure out how he was going to handle the dark one.

 _Uh oh…what's going on here? Guess you'll just have to keep reading. He he he. As always please review. Pleeeaaassseee. Thanks to those who continue to read and who have just started with me It will be worth it I PROMISE. Hope this holds you for over the holidays. Won't be able to update until afterwards._

 _Next Chapter: Operation Fun Week 4- Leap of Faith_


	9. Chapter 9: Week 4- Leap of Faith

AN: For those of you still asking, the paternity of baby Robyn will not be changed and for reasons that will be revealed more near the end of story. Baby Robyn will make appearances but she is NOT the focus of this story. I'm sry if this changes your mind about reading this, I think you'll be missing out. As always no beta so all mistakes are my own. Thanks to those who are reading. Stick with me or new readers please give this a try. Thanks so much!

Chapter 9: Week 4 of Operation Fun- Leap of Faith

 _Oh, why you look so sad, the tears are in your eyes,  
Come on and come to me now, and don't be ashamed to cry,  
Let me see you through, 'cause I've seen the dark side too.  
When the night falls on you, you don't know what to do,  
Nothing you confess could make me love you less,_

 _I'll stand by you,  
I'll stand by you, won't let nobody hurt you,  
I'll stand by you_

 _The Pretenders-I'll Stand By You_

With a wide yawn, Regina padded her way down the hallway from her bedroom and poked her head around Henry's door to find her little prince still in "slumberland." Smiling to herself, she gently closed the door and made her way down to the kitchen.

As she didn't sleep well last night, the first thing to do was make a fresh pot of coffee, which she could probably finish all on her own this morning. One of those reoccurring dreams had kept her awake last night. Not nightmares but oh so beautiful dreams that most of the time included her and Robin just living and enjoying their moments together. Other times would include them with their children and it was everything she would dream of. They were beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time as they would always end exactly the same way. Robin would go into kiss her and right before their lips, she would wake up. It was cruel.

Then after she would wake up, she would either cry herself back into a few more restless hours of sleep or stare blankly at the wall until the sun came up. Either way, she always felt this heart wrenching heaviness in her chest with the coldest of chills throughout her body.

Last night was the worst one yet. It was their wedding day and they were both so happy to share their day celebrating their love with their family and friends. Henry, Roland, and baby Robyn had been by their sides as they exchanged vows that had everyone's eyes filled with tears. After they had exchanged wedding rings, Tuck had pronounced them husband and wife before they went to share their first kiss as a married couple. Before their lips brushed, she woke up. It was a cruel joke.

This was one of those nights where she couldn't fall back to sleep. So several cups of cups of coffee were going to be needed to make it through this day and whatever Rob had planned for today. Again, he was keeping everything a secret, which was so irritating.

As she went about making a pot of coffee, her phone that she had brought down with her buzzed on the kitchen island. With a quick click of the button, the screen illuminated with an alert she had a message from the very tight lipped outlaw.

 _Annoying Outlaw: Rise and Shine! You ready for today?_

 _Regina: How can I be ready when you won't tell me what we are doing?!_

With a roll of her eyes, Regina placed the phone on the island to go poor herself a cup of the strong coffee that now was now ready. Just a few seconds later, her phone beeped that she had another message. She went over and frowned as she read his reply.

 _Annoying Outlaw: You know the rules. And have I let you down so far?_

 _Regina: Not YET but you could still have me killed_

 _Annoying Outlaw: I wouldn't dream of it._

Regina froze and felt shivers down her spine as she read these word and was reminded of the times Robin had spoken them to her in Storybrooke and the Enchanted Forest. With a shaky breath, she tried to stop the tears from falling once again. The ping of her cell phone kept her from doing so.

 _Annoying Outlaw: Where's your sense of adventure?_

Huffing out in annoyance, she typed her answer back.

 _Regina: I have plenty outlaw. More than you could ever imagine._

 _Annoying Outlaw: Prove it?_

 _Regina: Fine. I'll show you I have more adventure in my little finger than most have in their whole body._

 _Annoying Outlaw: I look forward to it. I'll see you at 12. Wear a swim suit._

 _Regina: Swimsuit? Is this some ploy to see me half naked?_

 _Annoying Outlaw: Maybe ;)_

 _Regina: One piece it is then._

 _Annoying Outlaw: You're no fun._

 _Regina:I'm plenty of fun. see you later, Outlaw._

Just as she sent the last text, Henry had shuffled down the stairs and entered the kitchen while rubbing sleep out of his eyes as he sat at the kitchen island. "Morning Mom."

"Good morning sweet heart." Regina replied as she walked over and gave him a kiss on his forehead. "Hope you slept well. What can I get you for breakfast?"

"Would pancakes be do-able?"

"Very." After running a hand through his hair, she turned and started to take out the ingredients for said pancakes. "What does Emma and the pirate have planned for today?"

"I think it's just going to be Ma and I today. Which should be nice. It's been awhile since its just been the two of us." Henry replied as Regina set a glass of orange juice in front of Henry and he took it happily, drinking a few gulps. "Are you hanging out with Rob again today?"

"Yes." Regina paused as she mixed the dry ingredients of the pancakes together. "What we are doing, I haven't got a clue though."

"I'm glad you have someone to spend time with when I'm not around." Pausing a moment, he was nervous about his next question. "Are you two…A thing?"

As Regina was mixing the wet ingredients with the dry, she looked up at Henry with a sad smile. "No…" she said solemnly before she turned and placed the bowl of batter next to the skillet before she turned back around and leaned against the counter. "We're just friends. It's too soon and even if it wasn't, I don't think it could ever be more."

"Robin would want you to be happy, Mom."

Nervously, Regina fiddled with her fingers as she looked down. "I know but it doesn't feel possible to ever move on from him. Can someone move on from their true love and soulmate?"

Henry nodded in understanding, not really knowing how to answer that question. "No one should have to lose their First and True Loves. But until you can believe it, I will for you, Mom. You'll find your happy ending."

With a soft smile, Regina looked up and flipped her haie out of her face before she leaned against the kitchen island and cupped her son's cheek. "You're my happy ending, Henry."

With a squeeze of her hand on his cheek, he smiled. "I love you too, mom but there's more to a happy ending than just me."

"How smart you are." She commented before she went back to the pancakes.

"You should invite him over for dinner or something. I'd like to meet the person my mom has been hanging out with so much, even if you two are just friends."

The pancakes sizzled as she poured the batter onto the hot pan. "oh yeah? Since when are you my protector young man?" Regina looked over her shoulder in question.

"Since now, or maybe even since the day you called me your son. Family looks out for one another."

With a flick of the wrist, Regina turned the now bubbling pancakes. "I'm the adult Henry. I look out for you not the other way around. I can take care of myself."

"I'm not 9 anymore, mom." Henry huffed. "Invite him over. Please?"

After Regina platted the pancakes, she slid them in front of her son. "Fine. I'll invite him over for dinner tomorrow."

"Good." Henry smiled before he drizzled syrup on his pancakes and took quite a large bite.

 **A few hours later…**

"Will you at least tell me where we are going?" Regina huffed as she pushed a tree branch away from her face that impeded her away along the trail.

"Nope." Rob replied and said nothing else to elaborate as he continued to talk ahead of her.

"Must you be so stubborn?" she asked him as she continued to walk behind him."For all I know, you could be taking me to the middle of nowhere." To be honest, she was starting to get annoyed. It was a hot summer day with the temperatures inching towards the nineties. As instructed she wore her swimsuit underneath a pair of black shorts and plain white t shirt with a wide neck that hung slightly off her shoulders. Had she known they were going on a little hike, she would have traded her flip flops for at least tennis shoes. "Are we almost there? It's scorching hot out here!"

"Must you be so impatient and complain?" Rob goaded back to her as he stopped and turned around.

"Well maybe if you had told me where we were going, I would have worn shoes more suitable."

"I'm surprised you didn't wear heels, honestly." Rob teased with a grin to which Regina just rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, we are almost there your majesty. Would you like me carry you? Maybe feed you grapes as we go? Fan you perhaps?"

"You're still insufferable, you know that." Annoyed, Regina brushed past him and continued to walk along the trail. Eyeing her as she went, rob just shook his head.

Without a word, the two continued along the trail in contented silence. It wasn't long before the trail merged with another and things started to look familiar. The trees started to thin out and Regina realized they had been here before when they had come riding. "We're going back to the lake?"

"Maybe?" Rob responded with a tilt of his head as he looked at her, again not elaborating.

Miffed, Regina halted and crossed her arms as she glowered at him, making it clear she wasn't going to continue until he told her what they were doing.

"And you call me stubborn?" Rob puffed out with a chuckle as he shook his head. "Fine. It's a hot summer day and I thought we could cool off in the lake and have some fun swimming. You do know how to swim, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Regina replied with slight offence. "It's just peasants like you usually swim and bath in lakes or whatever."

"In this world, your majesty, I have come to learn it's actually a popular summer time activity."

"Do you always have to be so irritating?" Regina groaned as she adjusted her bag on her shoulder. "And I know that! I've lived in this realm longer than you."

"So where's that sense of adventure you bragged about?" he challenged her.

"I'll show you, Outlaw." Knowing where they were now, she jerked by him and made her way towards the lake

It was just as beautiful as she remembered, maybe even more so on this clear, sunny day. The water of the lake was so clear, one could see the rocks scattered at the bottom. Much cleaner than the lake at the park, she thought. Fish were bobbing to the top to catch insects that skated above. Birds chirped above in the branches of the trees as they fed their young. It was all quite peaceful, until she heard a "WOOO HOOOO" and turned to see Rob swinging from a rope and leaping into the water with a splash. She watched as he came to the surface and swan towards her. "You coming in? the water's refreshing. Unless you're scared?"

"I'm not scared of a little lake, Outlaw." With a roll of her eyes, she snapped as she walked over to where he set up a blanket and dropped her bag upon it. After she kicked her shoes off, along with her top and shorts', revealing her 50's inspired retro style black one piece; she balanced herself along the rocks until she made her way to the edge of the water. Pausing at the edge, she looked towards him as he was treading the water, still wearing his swim shirt. "Why are you still wearing that?" she pointed towards his long sleeved swim/board shirt.

"This?" he pulled the shirt slightly away from his chest. "I have sensitive skin."

"Sensitive skin?" she asked with a raise of her brow. "Don't tell me you're a pre Madonna."

"No." he said sharply. "I just burn easily. Now come on, get in. You have to swing from the rope. Lake rules."

"And who made these rules? You?"

"Yes. It's fun.I found this place, now get in before the sun goes down and I'm another day older." Slamming his hand into the water and creating a wave, he punctuated his point.

" I made this town by the way…Fine." Groaning, Regina tottled her way over the rocks to where the rope swing was hanging from one of the willow branches that hung over the deeper part of the lake and balanced to grab it. Holding on tight, she turned towards the lake but paused, looking over to Rob who had swum over to where she was.

"Come on jump in." he punched the water again but with both hands this time. "Just swing and let go."

"ok! Just give me a moment." Exhaling in exacerbation, Regina then starting quickly hopping from one foot to the other in order to ready herself to jump.

"Get in the water woman!" Rob yelled as he pointed down to said water. "Get in!"

"Alright!" Regina snapped back at him. "Get ready for the best cannonball you've ever seen." With that Regina started with a run and leapt holding onto the rope tightly, she wrapped her legs around it and screamed. AS it swung forward, she clutched tightly and closed her eyes.

"Let go!" Rob bellowed in direction to her but Regina didn't listen and the rope swung backwards. " Open your eyes and propel yourself forward, Regina. Just let go. Don't be nervous!"

As the rope began to swing forward again, she opened her eyes and did as directed, letting go on the higher up swing. She flung high into the air before she tucked herself into the ball and crashed into the water below with a big mushroom splash at Rob. After she kicked her way to the surface, she came with a big laugh. "Hah! Got you Outlaw!"

"Indeed, you did." He agreed with a nod and a grin. "You seemed reluctant to let go. Didn't you do this as a kid?"

"No. Mother wouldn't let me. She said it wasn't proper for me to swim in the dirty lake with peasants." She scoffed."I had to have tea time and couldn't ruin my skin with the sun but I wanted to."

"Your mother sounded strict?"

With a sigh, a sad smile crossed her lips as she remembered growing up with her mother. "She was and even worse so controlling. She breed me to live and grow up to have the life she wanted, not what I did…" she paused as she realized how open she was being with him. Why was it so easy?

"To be Queen." Rob replied in more of a statement than question.

"Yes." Regina whispered as they both continued to tread the water and she looked down in embarrassment as she pretended to be distracted by a leaf floating in the water.

"You never wanted that?" Honestly, Rob knew the answer without even needing to ask it.

Looking up, she met his eyes as she answered him. "No. Never."

"What did you want?" His voice was sincere as he asked the question.

Looking up at the blue sky, she took a moment to consider her answer before she looked back to him. "To be Free." She gulped before continuing. "To have adventure. To ride my horse without a care in the world. I didn't care that those other children weren't born royal. I wanted to have fun and friendship. I didn't have a lot friends growing up because mother wouldn't let me. All I ever wanted was family and friends then later on love too."

"You have all of that now." Rob responded with a lopsided smile.

"Most of it." A sad smile came across her lips before she continued. "I've had love twice and lost it twice. It seems like a cruel joke. I want it to be a part of my happy ending but maybe it's just not meant to be."

Rob, unsure at first what to say, reached out and gave one of her hands a squeeze. "I'm sorry Regina. If it helps at all, I'll be your friend no matter what. I'm here for you."

"Thanks." She said softly as she squeezed his hand back. "Now what else did kids do in the lake."

A smirk came across Robs face, one that said he was up to no good. "This." He stated flatly before he splashed her in the face.

"Hey!" she squealed before she splashed him back in retaliation.

For the next hour, the two continued to splash and dunk each other in the lake. They took turns swinging and jumping from the rope. From there they raced each other back and forth before they went onto a game of Marco/Polo. When they eventually tired, they ended up lounging on the blanket under the sun, taking in its warmth. If Regina was honest with herself, she really enjoyed doing something she never got to as a child, even something as simple as swimming in a lake.

"So." Rob said looking over at her from his spot on the blanket.

"Hmmmm." Regina replied without looking at him and kept her eyes closed as she took in the warm summer rays.

"You said you wanted adventure and thrill?" As he asked, he looked up to the cliffs then back at her

With peaked interest, Regina opened her eyes and looked towards him. "What did you have in mind?"

"That." Pointing with his finger, he gestured towards the peaks of the cliffs.

"And what's that?" Mocking him in a low toned voice, she repeated his action.

"You want a real sense of thrill and a rush? I say we take leap off of the cliffs into the lake. It's deep enough further in."

Regina's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you crazy? We could die!"

"I've done it before and I'm still standing here. Are you afraid, your majesty?" Rob taunted her.

Turning her head quickly, she scowled at him, Regina Mills was afraid of nothing. "I'm not scared of anything Outlaw." With a regal lift of her chin, she answered him in her best queenly voice. "Fine. Lets do this."

Both of them got up and made their way over to the rocks and started to scale the walls to the highest peak that just jutted out over the waterfall. It was quite the site once they reached the top. "Wow, you can see the world from up here." As she commented, she scanned the view in awe before looking down to the lake. "Whoa, that's pretty high."

"It's a rush, but a good one. Trust me." Rob replied as he reached his hand out for her to take. "We'll jump together?" He offered to her.

Regina just stared at his hand before answering. "Together." With a little hesitation, she took her hand in his and clasped their fingers together. "Don't let go."

"Never." He responded in earnest as he squeezed her hand. "As a friend, I promise I would never intentionally hurt you."

"Don't make promises you can't keep." Regina snapped back as she peered back a the lake. Most had eventually ending up hurting her in some way.

" I never make a promise I can't keep, especially one like this." Regina looked back at him and saw nothing in his eyes but him being genuine. "Ok." She said as she swallowed down the lump in her throat. "On the count of three?"

He nodded once. "On Three...One."

"Two." She choked out. God she was nervous and like always he could tell and squeezed her hand in comfort before he continued the count. Why could he tell?

"Three!" He shouted before he stepped forward and she followed in suit. They both leapt together and soared down to the water. The wind whipped through their faces and hair as they tumbled down. The green of the trees turned to a blur. In the middle, things seemed to slow for a moment and everything seemed to come into focus before they continued to fall and they crashed into the water below, their hands still clutched together. The height of the jump caused them to drop deep into the depth of the lake. Once the waves stopped jostling them around, the two swam to the surface and popped up with a gasp. "Oh my god." Regina said breathless as she pushed her hair back from her face and wiped the water from her eyes. "THAT was amazing." She laughed.

"I told you so." Rob replied smugly.

"Oh shut up." Laughing again, she splashed him with a tidal wave of water. "We are definitely doing that again!"

So they did and several more times, along with swimming, jumping from the rope again, and floating casually in the water. Eventually they ended up back on the blanket with towels around them. "So what are you up to for the rest of the evening?" Regina asked him casually.

"Thought I would just have dinner at grannies and browse the wanted section. I've been trying to find a job. Have to make money some how."

"You mean instead of stealing you're going to earn money honestly? I'm flabbergasted." Regina teased him as she nudged her side against his.

"Well I don't fancy spending anymore time in prison and I've heard Granny makes something called lasagna—"

"OH no!" Regina cut him off. "You can NOT have Granny's as your first experience with lasagna. It's frozen." She whispered the last part in disgust as if it was some unknown secret.

"Frozen? What does that mean? It doesn't sound good." He said confused.

"Doesn't matter. What does is that I make one mean lasagna."

"Mean? Why is your food mean? Do you poison it?"

"No! it's an expression." She said with a wave of her hands. "It means its good and if you help me make it I may even tell you my secret ingredient. So what do you say?"

"Are you offering to make me, an Outlaw, dinner your majesty?" He asked her as he held his hand to his chest in mock astonishment.

"I'll take the invitation away, Outlaw. Don't test me." She threatened him.

"What time would you like me there?"

"6 sharp." She answered him.

 **Later that Evening…**

A few hours later, Rob showed up at her door step with a bottle of red wine in hand. Regina showed him around and then the two made Regina's infamous lasagna together, with Regina even sharing her secret ingredient—red pepper flake. Needless to say, Rob was quite impressed with Regina's cooking skills as usually the royals of kingdoms never cooked. This lead Regina to explain to Rob that once she got to this realm she learned the art of cooking and baking to break up the metonymy of her life at the time.

After the lasagna was hot and bubbly and the salad was made, the two sat down together to enjoy food. As soon as Rob took a bite, he moaned how good it was and that he was definitely having seconds, maybe thirds. Regina just chuckled at him as he took a sip of wine. If she were honest with herself, she was glad he was here and that she wasn't alone but she would never let him know that.

Once they were finished eating, the two cleaned up together and then went into her living room to enjoy the rest of the wine. Rob carried a plate with another piece of lasagna on it.

Chuckling, Regina couldn't help but tease him. "Careful, Outlaw, if you keep eating like that you'll get a big belly that hangs over those jeans of yours.

Dropping his fork, Rob grinned as he lifted his shirt, showing off his six pack. "I don't think that'll be a problem."

Regina eyes widened as she gulped. "Doesn't seem like you need to wear that swim shirt."

As rob took another bite of lasagna, he choked out a laugh. "I told you, I burn easily." He then gave her a wink.

"Uh huh. Sure." She murmured, not really believing him.

"So." He swallowed the bite before he continued to try and change the subject. "Tell me, what else does this world have to offer?"

"Well, a big thing in the world is movies. Have you watched one yet?" she asked him.

"You mean that magical box that displays moving pictures?"

"Yes." She laughed at him. "That's called a television and this is like the shows on there only longer."

"ok. Do you have any suggestions?" He asked her.

"I thought we could start with the first movie I watched when I came to this realm." She then proceeded to get up and took a dvd off the shelf and showed him.

"E.T." He read out loud when she turned the box to him.

"It's a classic." Then she spun on her heels to turn her flat screen television on and placed the dvd into the player. "And one I think you'll enjoy." After she pressed play and the movie started, she topped their glasses of wine, returned to the couch, and made herself comfortable on the other end, tucking her toes underneath his legs. "Oh by the way, I was wondering if you wanted to come to dinner tomorrow again? Since we've been spending so much time together, Henry wanted to meet you and he loves lasagna so we will probably be finishing that up tomorrow."

"Ah your boy looking out for his mother, how chivalrous." Regina smiled at him thinking of her son. "Of course and I look forward to more of this." He said pointing to the now empty plate that held his lasagna."

"Good and there may be some dessert this time too—Apple turnovers." She said with a scrunch of her nose that was so Regina.

"Now you're just trying to kill me with food!" They both laughed at his statement before they both focused on the television once again.

As the movie started, she couldn't help to think that she was glad she wasn't alone tonight. Every day she wished Robin was here with her, but she had a feeling Rob came into her life for a reason.

 _Stick with me! About 6ish chapters left until some answers. Please let me know what you think. Reviews usually mean_ _i update quicker and that means getting to what everyone is waiting for. There are some good things to come before then. Thanks to those who continue to follow, it will be worth it. I'm not Adam and Eddy.I hope you'll be blown away._

 _Next Chapter: Tattooed on my Heart_


	10. Chapter10:Tattoos,Movie Night&Nightmares

AN: Thanks to those of you that followed, favorited, and reviewed. I like hearing what you guys think good or bad, as long as its constructive critism. For those of you who don't like it (guest reviewer), I don't expect everyone to like what I am writing.

To guest reviewer Calliope: this is a fantastic theory and should probably be written but I can tell you it is not that. When she is cold and when she is not is actually important.

I hope you are going to enjoy what I am doing here. After talking with the wonderful Sandpiper, Ive decided to make some adjustments to my story with the way I am telling it because I want to and Outlaw Queen has been through too much and I think you will enjoy the story more. I've made some edits, so new chapter title.

 _I loved you once_ _  
_ _Needed protection_ _  
_ _You're still a part of everything I do_ _  
_ _You're on my heart just like a tattoo_ _  
_ _Just like a tattoo I'll always have you_ _  
_ _I'll always have you_ _  
_ _I'll always have you  
Jordin Sparks—Tattoo (cheesy I know, but it goes with the chapter)_

Chapter 10: Operation Fun Week 5: Tattoos, movie night &nightmares.

The following Saturday morning, Regina found herself in front of Robin's Tombstone once again. She had just taken the dead flowers out of the attached vase and replaced them with fresh sunflowers. A sad smile crossed her lips as she fiddled with the petals of the flowers. "Hello, my thief…" She started before a tear threatened to fall. "I miss you…everyday" She sniffed. "These two past weeks have almost been bearable. Henry has finally had a summer where he can just be a kid. He's enjoying it. I don't know what I would do without him. Die probably."

Blinking a tear away that threatened to fall, she made herself continue to speak without breaking down. "Your daughter is growing like a weed. I swear she's an inch taller already, certainly growing more beautiful every day." Looking down at the grass in front of her, she begins to pick at it, a little nervous for what she's about to admit. "I try to help Zelena with your daughter. She asks for advice all the time but sometimes I find it hard. Hard because she reminds me of you and I wish we could have had that together. Hard because I still hang onto the guilt of what happened to you, what Zelena did to you in order to hurt me. We are trying to move forward as sisters, but I don't know if I'll fully be able to because I can't forgive her for what she did to you. But I try to move past my feelings because your daughter deserves her best chance and I feel a kinship with her. Like me, she was conceived selfishly for someone else's personal gain. I was conceived to be a Queen and she was conceived to try and hurt people. But if there's one thing I know, I won't let that little girl feel unloved and I'll keep an eye on zelena."

She paused for a moment and turned her head to the sky, closing her eyes and taking in the suns warmth. After a moment, she sighed and looked back towards the tombstone. "I got a hair cut. I feel like I needed something new. Do you like it?" she asked as she flipped her hair back and forth. "You always loved it, no matter what length it was, you were always running your fingers through it." Running her own hand through it, she smiled in reverence as she did so. "Rob took me to, get this, Sweeney Todd. Things didn't turn out for him as everyone thought. He changed his ways to become a good man, loves his daughter, and he gave me one hell of hair cut." She laughed lightly at the last part with a sad smile. "His daughter Johanna is lovely and we have a lot in common. She was locked up like a caged bird too. Maybe we can be some sort of friends eventually."

She exhaled a deep breath before continuing. "Rob is becoming a good friend. He just seems to want me to be happy and says that is what you would want to. But that just doesn't feel possible, not fully at least." At this point she sniffs and wipes her nose with a tissue she was holding. "I'll never admit this to him, but I like having him around. He dulls the pain somewhat." Shivers run through her at the comment. Damn these chills that come and go, she thinks to herself. "Did you send him to me Robin? To help me as a friend because you couldn't be here? He reminds me a lot of you though, not afraid to stand toe to toe with me and snark right back. It's kind of weird and spooky. Do you have a brother you never told me about?" Puffing out a laugh, she thought about the banter that happened between them in the enchanted forest.

"Last Saturday he took me swimming, something I never got to do as a kid. Mother wouldn't let me, she said peasants bath in the lake. Sound familiar, Thief?" Teasing, she raised her eyebrow at the tombstone, like he could see her. A frown came across her lips. Like he could hear her, maybe, she thought. "I love you Robin. I don't know if you can hear me but I do. I love you so much. Your love is forever tattooed on my heart." She choked out, holding back more tears, as she reached out and caressed his name on the tombstone. "I'll be back next week, thief. I love you, truly"

Taking one more moment to say goodbye, she got up, gazed upon his name before turning and leaving to go back to her car.

Once she got home, she threw her keys into the dish next to the door, took out her cell phone, and dialed the number of her intended recipient. Pacing the entrance way, she listened to several rings before he picked up.

"Your Majesty, to what do I owe the pleasure of your call?" The deep voice of Rob answered.

"Hey. I was wondering if you can come over?" She asked him as she made her way into the living room and sat down on her couch.

"Everything alright?" He asked her back with a concerned tone in his voice.

"Yeah…I was wondering if we can post pone whatever you have planned today? There's something else I want to do and was wondering if you would come with me." A little nervous, she started to nibble on her thumb.

"Sure thing. Let me get a shower and I'll be over in a jiffy."

"Did you just say jiffy? And you're not even dressed yet, it's noontime!"

"I did just say jiffy. My mom said it a lot and I met some pals last night for drinks. Lets just say I walked back to Granny's. What did you do last?"

"So hung over huh? Hope your head is pounding. Should I scream into the phone?" she teased him.

"Please bloody don't that's just mean." He lamented.

"hahaha they don't call me the evil queen for nothing, Outlaw."

"hmmm more bold and audacious I would say."

Those words sent shivers down her spine. She was stunned and didn't say anything back.

"Regina…Regina, are you there? Helllooooo."

"Where did you hear that?" she stammered into the receiver.

"N—No where." Rob stuttered a little into the phone. "Just think those are good words to describe you." He tried to sound more confident at the end. "Let me jump into the shower and I'll be over in a little bit."

"Ok. I'll see you soon."

They said goodbye and Regina hung up the phone with shivers that began to run through her body. She was starting to get really irritated by being cold all the time. After throwing her phone on the coffee table, she marched up the stairs and went to her closet to put Robin's hoodie on. As soon as she put it on, she sighed in relief as the shivers began to stop. Then deciding tea would help relax her, she went downstairs to put the kettle on the stove.

After the kettle started to whistle, she took it off the stove, poured it into her favorite mug, and dunked the tea bag. As she was about to take a sip, the door bell rang. With an annoyed huff, she put her cup down and went to answer the door. Rob was on the other side.

"That may have been the quickest shower known to man, did you even bother to use soap?" Regina sassed him as she stepped aside to let him in.

"Ha ha. Very funny. Yes I used soap. I'm not an animal. I just did it quickly. You sounded upset on the phone." With genuine concern, he followed her as they walked into the kitchen.

"I'm fine." Regina said plainly as she took out another mug, knowing that what she said didn't sound very convincing. "want some tea?" she held up the mug to him.

"Yes that would be lovely and you know I'm not buying that. Spill." He took the mug from her.

Leaning against the kitchen island, Regina watched as he made his tea, her arms crossed in front of her. Grimacing, she hated how well he could read her. Noticing she was starting to get hot, she unzipped her hoodie. "I went to Robin's grave."

Rob turned and took a sip of tea before answering. "That must have been emotional."

"It was." She stated matter of factly. "I feel silly though sometimes. I talk to him, tell him about my week or how I'm feeling, as if he can hear me. "

"What makes you think he doesn't?" Rob asked with a raise of his brow.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Just doesn't seem rational."

With cup in hand, Rob leaned against the kitchen island with his elbows propped up and looked at her. "Do you not believe in an afterlife? Seems like you would after the story I heard that some of you traveled to the underworld."

Fidgeting, this conversation made her nervous. She pulled up her sleeves, thinking that would actually help cool her off. Why was she so hot right now? "Doesn't matter what I believe or don't believe. What matters is that Hades said there was no moving on for him, that he was obliterated."

"We talked about this, Regina. Hades could have lied. Maybe there were circumstances he didn't know about. Like some sort of get pass go or exclusion to the rules."

"Maybe." Regina mumbled, looking down at her tea.

"I think he hears you Regina, loud and clear." He turned and squeezed her hand; she could tell that he knew she was done with this conversation for now. "So, are you going to tell me what you wanted to do today or are you going to leave me hanging?"

"Oh look, are you annoyed I didn't tell you what I wanted to do today?" She sassed him with a smug look.

Rob chortled at her comment. "You got me it seems, fair enough."

"I want your advice anyways whether I should do this or not. I've never done had one done before."

"Had what done?" he asked with intrigue.

"This." Taking out a scrap of paper from her trouser pocket, she unfolded it and flattened it out on the counter. One the paper was a drawing of a lion roaring on his hind legs with a black background shaped like a shield. Encircling the top was a classic five point jeweled crown. "is a sketch of a tattoo I was thinking about getting." Skeptical, she looked up at Rob for his reaction.

Nodding, he had a look of surprise on his face. "I'm guessing this means something to you."

Taking the piece of paper in hand, she caressed the picture of the lion with a single fingernail, nodding her head as she eyed the picture reverently. "Without getting into it, yes it does mean something special to me. Robin had this tattoo but without the crown. I put that on to add my own personal touch to it. Is it a stupid idea?" She slumped her shoulders.

"Why do you want to do it?" Intent on listening to her, he turned and leaned with one elbow on the counter to better look at her.

"To commemorate him and something that is just for me to remember him by." Then she turned and met his eyes with a small smile.

"Where do you want to get it?"

"My hip. Where for the most part, only I can see it. This is for me and for him. It feels like this would be a way to carry him with me, always. To know that he in fact existed"

"Then yes, I think you should get it. Do you have an appointment scheduled?"

"Yes." She sniffed, trying to keep anymore tears from falling. "I had my initial consultation with a new tattoo artist that came from your world, everyone was raving about her. She came up with this sketch. I told her I had to think about and make sure I really wanted it and I think I really want to."

"Then lets do it." Rob said while pounding the back of his on the counter. "What time is your appointment?"

"In a little over an hour." she answered him, a little nervous about doing this. She knew it was going to hurt a lot, but she wasn't going to let that stop her. A little pain was not new to her.

"Then I will be there to hold your hand all the way through it. Lets get some lunch before hand. You shouldn't have low blood sugar before you do this."

"You mean breakfast for you lazy bones?" sniggering at her own joke, she play punched him. "But fair point on the low blood sugar thing and oh my god its so hot in here, are you hot?" she asked him as she tore off her sweat shirt.

"No. How scandalous for you to strip before me your majesty?"

"You wish, Outlaw. Plus, I'm a Queen and a little more refined than that." With a queenly tilt of her chin, she looked over her shoulder at him.

"Ok your highness, lets go fill that refined stomach of yours." Rob commented flatly before dragging her out the door.

After they had lunched at Granny's, they headed over to the tattoo parlor. Now Regina sat next to Rob, anxiously tapping her foot while waiting for it to be her turn.

Irritated, Rob placed his hand on her knee in order to make her stop fidgeting. "Stop. You're not helping yourself."

Regina straightened herself in her chair and wriggled to get comfortable before she snapped at him. "Well excuse me for being nervous when I'm about to get a needle stuck in my skin over and over."

Turning his head, Rob just scowled at her. "You don't have to do this." He said plainly and without judgment.

"No. I want to. Trust me I've been through worse pain in my life." She murmured as she played with her fingernails. Since she was a little girl, she always did this when she was anxious. Every time mother would scold her for it and she forced herself to stop.

Taken back a little, Rob didn't know how to take her comment and was curious. "Like what?"

"Well for one, being electrocuted for what seemed like hours."

"What?!" Rob snapped, gob smacked by this. "When was this?"

"A few years ago. Someone from my past held me hostage, trying to get answers about where his father was. Did him no good really because I killed his father years ago. Still want to be my friend?" Looking at him, she smiled sarcastically.

"I definitely want to find this guy and kick his ass." Rob held anger in his tone.

"Well, to do that you'll have to make a trip to the underworld because he's dead."

"Right where he belongs." Rob replied, looking as a tall, skinny, and dark haired Asian woman with tattoos came forward and called Regina's name. "Ya ready?" Rob asked as he held out his hand.

"As I'll ever be." With a small smile, Regina took his hand and they got up to meet the woman by the reception desk. "Rob this is Tori Wu, she's going to be doing the tattoo. Tori, this annoying Outlaw, is my friend Rob."

"Nice to meet you." Reaching out his hand, Tori took it in return for a handshake. "hmm…she said with a raise of her brows as she eyed him up and then looked at Regina. "You ready to get started?" Tori asked.

"Yeah." Regina said huffing out a breath.

Tori led them into a back room and had Regina lay on the tattoo chair while rob took the seat next her, grabbing her hand in support.

Tori sat in the stool on the other side of Regina and dragged the cart closer to her. "You want this in black and white, right?"

Regina nodded nervously in return. "Yes exactly how you sketched it out."

"Still want it on your right hip, right above your hip bone?"

"Perfect." Regina told her, trying not to let her voice crack in nervousness.

"Ok. This isn't a very big tattoo so it hopefully shouldn't take very long but the shading of the crown and blackening the shield will take the longest. You let me know if you need a break, you hear me. I don't want you passing out in my chair."

"Im tougher than that." Regina bit back, a little annoyed Tori was implying that she was week.

"Just letting you know." Tori said as she readied everything, lowered the waist band of her yoga pants she had changed into before they came, and began to stencil the tattoo on her hip. "Did you remember to eat something?"

"Yes. I did." Regina took a deep breath as Tori finished stenciling and reached for the tattoo needle.

Of course Rob could tell that she was jittery about that this, so he squeezed her hand in comfort. "You can do this Regina. A little needle can't take out the Queen"

Trying to relax back against the headrest, she readied herself for the needle as Tori made sure her pants were out of the way for the tattoo. "You like the placement of it?" Tori asked as she pointed down to the penned drawing. Looking down, Regina examined the placement and nodded her head in approval. Once again she rested her head back, trying not to be afraid of a little needle. She had been through worse after all.  
Feeling the pressure from Tori's hand on her hip, Regina scrunched her eyes shut as Tori pierced the skin with her tattoo needle. It pinched and she felt the vibrating from the instrument but overall it wasn't as bad as she thought. It sort of felt like someone was poking her over and over with little sharp twinges of pain.

"You ok?" Regina heard Rob ask and she peaked one eye open at him and nodded. "Getting electrocuted was definitely worse."

For awhile, the three remained in silence as Tori worked her magic. Rob was the first to break the silence. "So Tori, Regina tells me you also came from the land of untold stories. What made you stay here?"

Stopping a moment, Tori looked up and then patted Regina's skin with clean towel. "You were there and know how much it sucked. Sad and overcrowded. Where I'm originally from sucked even more than that. Imagine a world divided into 5 factions with each having their own job and something they like to call an aptitude test where they inject with some serum deciding where you belong. Where people try to control you your whole life." She explained to him with disgust in her voice as she went back to Regina's tattoo.

"That's bonkers." Rob said as he looked to Regina, who had her eyes scrunched shut and was biting her lip to distract her from the pain. "You ok?" Rob asked and she opened her eyes to look at him, nodding to let him know she was ok.

Tori had stopped but then continued, eyes knit in concentration, when she knew her client was ok.

"So you decided to build a life here?" Rob asked with interest.

"Yes a few friends that are like family and I decided to stay. This place is chill. Open. Clean." Tori answered him, not looking up, as she continued working on the tattoo and flipped her long hair away from her face.

" I understand why you like it here. I know I do." Rob stated, looking over to Regina who smiled in return, knowing what he was getting at, that he was happy to have met her. If she were honest, she was glad he came into her life too. She didn't know where she would be without his friendship.

"You doing ok, Regina? Do you need a break?" Tori looked up at Regina in question.

"I'm fine, lets get this finished." She replied.

"Ok. Good. Not too much longer. You're a tough one." Tori gave her a small smile then returned to her task her hand. "it's men like the one sitting next to you that are babies about this." Not looking up, she made this comment to Rob with a smirk on her face.

"Hey. I'm tough!" Rob defended himself.

"Please all you men are babies." Tori looked up and laughed with Regina.

"She's right. You men are all wimps." Regina backed Tori up.

"Hey! Now I feel like I'm being tag teamed by you ladies. Not fair!"

"Life's not fair, Outlaw." Regina directed her comment to Rob.

"And us woman have to stick together." Stopping a moment, Tori winked at Regina before she went back to finish the tattoo.

Crossing his arms, Rob just slumped back into his chair with a huff while glaring at the two snickering women.

Fifteen minutes later, Tori laid down the tattoo needle and declared that she was done, happy with her work. Regina got up and went over to the full length mirror. Pulling down the waist band on her pants, Regina admired Tori's work and she had to admit she was very happy too. Right above her hip bone, lay her very own lion tattoo with a regal corown. She caressed right above it with a single finger as she looked at reverently.

Rob came over and looked at her through the mirror, his hands tucked into his jean pockets. "You like it?"

With glassy eyes and a sad smile, she looked up, met his eyes in the mirror, and nodded. A rogue tear slipped down her cheek that she batted away immediately. She didn't want to cry anymore but she missed the thief so damn much.

Draping his arm around her shoulder, he squeezed it in comfort. "I think he would like it and be honored."

"You think so?" Regina asked unsure.

"Definitely." He nodded with confidence.

After a bandage was put on her tattoo and Tori gave her post care instructions (she'd probably just end up healing it with her magic), the two made their way out of the parlor and back to Regina's house. Dark, ominous clouds were merging in overhead, definitely threatening storms later on today and through the night.

Once there, they had decided to cook another favorite recipe of Regina's, chicken cacciatore for dinner. After having fun making the meal together, they sat down at her dining room table. As soon as Rob took a bite, he moaned that she was a goddess in the kitchen and may be having thirds again tonight. With a shake of her head, Regina just laughed at him as she sipped her wine. It was then that rain started to pelt against the window, falling from the sky in heavy sheets.

"Well, looks like a night in." Regina commented, swirling her wine.

"I must admit, this ruins my plans but we can take a rain check. Get it?…rain…check" Rob pointed towards the window as he dryly chuckled at his own joke. With a blank glare directed at him, Regina did not find him amusing "Ha Ha Ha." Her voice dripped in sarcasm as she rolled her eyes.

"Ok. I'll admit it was lame." Rob held his palms up in defeat before looking towards her. "Why don't we spend our evening watching more of those things you call movies?"

Picking up her fork, Regina took a bite of food as she nodded. "Works for me."

When they were done with dinner, they cleaned up and then sat down in the sitting room and tried to settle on which movies to watch. In the end, they started with The Breakfast Club, Ghost, and then Say Anything. Somewhere in the middle of say anything, thunder started to rumble some distance away. Then as they started Pretty Woman, lightening struck, illuminating the room with each strike, and the wind started to pick up with a howl. This was going to be a bad storm.

"Maybe you should stay the night?" Regina asked as she settled deeper into the cushions, looking towards the window at the storm outside. "It's not going to be safe for you to go back to Granny's. I have plenty of spare bedrooms" A loud smack of thunder and strike of bright lightening punctuated her point.

"You may be right, your majesty."

"Of course I am. Now restart the movie. This is the best part." Clutching the couch pillow close to her chest, Regina snuggled back into the cushions.

Sometime before Richard Gere's character appears on the fire escape with roses in hand, Regina and Rob both fell asleep. With the boom of the thunder and strike of lightening, nightmares started to invade Regina's dreams. Over and over she saw the lightning bolt invading Robin's chest and his body falling helplessly to the ground with his soul disappearing into thin air. The scene played before her like a broken record repeating faster and faster until she was finally jerked awake screaming NO, jarring Rob in the process.

"You ok?" Rob asked, concern in her voice as he grasped her arm, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with the other.

Trembling, she bent over and tucked her head into her legs, shaking her head that she wasn't ok.

"Come here." He pulled her into him, draping his arm across her shoulders as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "Nightmares?"

Sniffing, Regina nodded her head, trying not to let more tears fall. "Every time it storms."

"About robin?" he asked as he rubbed her arm up and down meant to sooth.

Closing her eyes and willing the threat of tears away, she puffed out a small yes.

"Want to talk about it?"

"No." Her voice was horse, as if she had just been screaming for hours.

"When you're ready, I am here to listen, ok." Rob said supportively.

"Thank you." Regina was glad he wasn't pushing her but giving her comfort all the same.

"it's late. Well past midnight. Why don't we bring her majesty to her royal chambers and get into bed."

Wiping away her tears, Regina snickered as she got up to make her way upstairs. "Will you sit with me until I fall asleep.

"Of course. Not a problem." Rob confirmed as he followed her up to the master bedroom.

Once changed into her silk pajamas with Robin's hoodie over it, she got in and snuggled under the covers. The two friends talked for a little while about everything and nothing before Regina's eyes started to feel heavy. A few moments later, her breathing started to even out, letting Rob know she was asleep.

Rob sat with her for a few more minutes to make sure she was asleep and no more nightmares would plague her. Turning to look out the window, he noticed the storm was dying down with only drizzle hitting the windows. Seeing what Regina was going thru, he knew he needed to take action. So he got up and kissed her head before he whispered, "I'm going to fix this." She didn't stir.

Rob then made his way out of Regina's house and marched down to Main Street with purpose. Not knowing if this was a mistake, he ended up in front of the Dark One's door and wrapped his right fist against it. "I know you're there Imp. Dark One's don't need to sleep." Rob bellowed through the door as he continued to pound against it.

Suddenly, the door clicked open and creaked open ominously. Stepping inside, Rob closed the door and turned to see Rumple standing behind the display counter, polishing silver. "About time you showed up Dearie. I personally thought you would have been here sooner." Holding up the silver piece to the light, he inspected it.

Rob walked up to the counter and leaned against it, glaring at Rumple. "I don't have time for games Dark one. I need your help. I'm here to see if we can make a deal."

"Let me guess, does it have something to do with this?" Turning around, Rumple pulled away the picture and opened his safe with a wave of his hand. He extracted two storybook pages and placed them on the counter.

"Where did you get those?" Rob questioned with a gruff voice

"Thought you could burn them and then throw them down the well? Tsk tsk. These are pure magic Dearie. For it can't be destroyed, it can only change form." Rumpled explained with a smug grin on his face while Rob just continued to stare him down, not looking at the pages. "Tell me, thief, should I call you Robert or Robin of Locksley? Or should we stick with Robin Hood. It's becoming difficult to keep track."

Clenching his fists, Rob began to tremble in anger, stare hardening even more at Rumple before he looked down at the pages. Lying before him were the caricatures of his light and dark self drawn on the pages. The top one displayed who everyone in this world had known the honorable Robin Hood to be with sandy blonde hair, blue eyes sparkling with light behind them, and a smug grin showing off his dimples. The exact opposite could be found on the picture below. His dark self stood with dark hair and scruff, no light behind his eyes making them look sapphire in color, and anger etched into his face. The same face he wore now and the same one he used to steal the wand from the man in front of him.. The only thing they had in common were the lion tattoos on display.

"I see now where you got your inspiration for that glamour of yours when you stole from me. Here I thought you were apprehensive about magic but it seems our Queen wasn't the first to delve into the splitting of their light and dark selves." Rumple stated with that cocky grin of his.

"I was desperate and almost lost completely to darkness. I had to do something. I'm not this man anymore" Rob explained as his eyes didn't leave Rumple's and he pointed to the page.

"Your current situation begs to differ, thief, and be careful of that anger of yours. Just another thing you and the Queen seem to have in common." Picking up the silver he had been polishing, he opened the case and placed it carefully in while Ron continued to watch him carefully. "it's quite obvious after what we saw with Regina that your soul wasn't obliterated because your other half was still alive, but tell me how could your soul stay tethered to this world." Leaning on the counter, Rumple eyed the thief carefully.

"I don't know." Rob responded, flicking his gaze down back to the picture.

Rumple only glared at him harder. "You're lying." He pointed his finger at Rob. "You know something and aren't telling me. You want my help I need to know everything. All magic involved."

Rob gulped down the ball in his throat, unsure if he should share this fact with the Dark One, but he needed to fix this, get back to his real self, and get back to his soul mate, family, and friends. "Regina is my soul mate."

Eyes wide, Rumple was shocked and he began to pace back and forth behind the counter not offering any answers.

Watching him pace, Rob huffed out a breath. "Is there something wrong?"

Rumple stopped pacing and looked towards Rob. "Soulmate magic is rare. Not much is known about it. Your other half was left where?"

"In the land of untold stories." Rob said starting to grow impatient.

"Sort of fitting really. So there was time between when your soul merged back with your darker self?" Rumple paused, seemingly trying to answer his own question. "Do you remember anything from before your two halves were reunited?"

"It's hazy." Rob began. "Almost like looking at things through water but I knew I was tethered to Regina. I was with her everywhere, even outside in New York. Obviously magic got outside Storybrooke somehow. I saw everything that happened there and was with her every moment. It was torture not being able to be there for her or talk to her. After we got back to town and Hyde merged our realms, that's when I felt this pull and I traveled and rejoined my other half. Why? I have no clue."

As Rumple took in the information, he nodded and mmhmmed.

"Can you help me or not?" Rob asked, getting irritated.

"Hold your temper, Outlaw." Rumple cut him off before he could say anything further. "Just because it's rare, doesn't mean there isn't an answer. Just need to further research this and I don't do things for free dearie. The better question is what are you willing to do for me?"

"Anything." Rob said without hesitation. "If it means I can make things right.

"Oh I do love when they say that." An evil grin crept on Rumple's face."I'll have to think on this one. I'll draw up a contract. Come in tomorrow night and we will discuss it."

"I don't play games Rumple. Is there a way to get back to who I really am?"

"Never doubt the dark one." Rumple smiled, pretty sure he already knew what would fix this.

"I'll see you tomorrow night." With that, Rob turned to leave the shop but was stopped by Rumple's voice as he grabbed the door handle. "Remember, thief. No one breaks a deal with the Dark One. I can be your worst nightmare and I would hate for Regina to find out about the content and story on these pages. Not such the honorable man everyone thought you were. Would hate for Regina to be disappointed in you and look at you differently, wouldn't you?

"I'm not that person anymore." With nothing further to say, Rob swiftly opened the door and left.

 **Ok… covers eyes, nervous about this. Feel free to message me to discuss or leave reviews. Love it? Hate it? In between? Also I have no idea about tattoos. So if I got everything wrong,sorry about that.**

 **Next chapter: Blood Does Not Always a Family Make**


	11. Ch11:Blood Does Not Always A Family Make

AN: not to long of a note, to guest reviewer from last chapter, I'll admit I did some research on tattoos bc I don't have one. Yup. Yikes. Ouch. But regina's tough.

Thanks to those who reviewed, favorite, and followed. I hope you continue to enjoy what I have planned. You may need a tissue for this chapter. Time to start fixing shit, beginning with this chapter. Please excuse mistakes, only edited this once.

This chapter is for broken hearted OQ and Hoodie after leanne's article. Bc this is fixable and I want this fic to show that. I am going to share this bc I feel people need it, I will be bringing back the real robin hood. What I wont tell you is how I will do it and what his past entails but hope you enjoy it. How about dimples queen with some regal believer? Or maybe regina/little john friendship is your style?

Chapter 11: Blood Does Not Always A family Make.

 _And then one day  
A magic day he passed my way  
And while we spoke of many things  
Fools and kings  
This he said to me  
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn  
Is just to love and be loved in return"  
Nature Boy- Nat King Cole and sung by many others_

It was around lunch time on Thursday afternoon and Regina was in her office buried under mounds of paperwork. Weeks had passed since everything occurred but she still found herself unable to catch up budget reports and thinks a like. Most of the time, Henry would stop by for lunch but today Leroy and the other dwarfs had invited him on a fishing trip. Who was she to say no? It was summer time and Henry deserved time to be kid. As long as he was safe and home for dinner, she wouldn't begrudge him a little summertime fun

The week had been a rather quiet one. Sunday morning she had woken up and discovered that Rob had left at some point during the night or morning without a word. She had texted him and had yet to receive a response, which was odd for him. Usually he texted without hesitation and this had let her to hoping that he was ok, especially if he went out in that store, because she couldn't lose someone else she cares about. Not that she would let him know that. Sighing, she looked down at her budget reports and just as about her vision was going blurry, there was a knock at her door.

"Come in." Yelling at the door, she gave permission for whatever guest was at the door. Hearing the door open, she looked up.

"I do hope I'm not going to have a fire ball thrown at my head." Rob had a sheepish look on his face as he entered the office, take out bag in hand.

"That depends on what your excuse is for calling me back." Regina retorted back as she put the report she was working on into the done pile.

"I brought lunch." Rob said hopeful, swinging the takeout bag back and forth but Regina just glared at him with her arms crossed. Deflating a little, he could tell this was not going to work. "I had some business to take care of."

"Some business to take care of?" Cutting him off, she wasn't buying what he was offering. "Care to elaborate?"

"No." Rob stated, not wanting to give any further detail.

"No, what do you mean no? I don't like games Rob and friends don't hide things. We are friends, aren't we? What's going on?"

Rubbing his palms over his face, rob sighed before answering her. "Trust me when I say I can't tell you."

With a tilt of her head, she pinched her eyes at him in suspicion. "I don't like secrets."

"I know you don't." Getting up, Rob put the bag on the desk and began emptying its contents. Then he looked up at her. "I can't tell you right now but when the time is right I will. ok. Let's leave it at that and have some lunch together. I brought you that salad you like that tastes like grass."

" Fine. But we are not done with this conversation and what is it? Kale salad?" She asked with a raise of her eyebrow to which he nodded yes. "It does not taste like grass and it's good for you."

"You keep telling yourself that your majesty." He opened up his bacon cheeseburger and started to open the ketchup packets to drown his fries. "But I could go to greenery in the back yard and get the same thing."

"Well, at least I'm not going to die of a heart attack from the cholesterol and fat in that one burger." She sassed at him as she poured a little light vinaigrette dressing on her grilled chicken kale salad.

"I'm as fit as a fiddle." Rob mumbled as he chewed his bite that he just took.

"Did they not teach you manners in your realm?"

"In our land, it's a compliment to chew with your mouth open and burp. It means you enjoyed your food." Rob joked and laughed at the disgust on her face.

"You're disgusting." She countered back at him before she dug into her salad.

"and you're an uptight royal." He quipped, munching on a fry and swallowing. "You've never just let go a good burp?"

"No. Mother probably would have slapped my fingers with a ruler."

"Shame really. I'm not sure I'd like this mother of yours." Rob leaned back in his chair as he laid his burger back into his container and rubbed his belly in contentment.

"You probably wouldn't. Not many people did." she shrugged as she pushed some kale leaves around before lifting a bite into her mouth. "Thank you for this by the way. If you hadn't brought this I would probably be eating the granola bar I threw into my purse before leaving."

"No problem." Smiling, he took another bite of burger and the two continued to eat in contented silence. A few minutes later, she thought she heard him say her name. "Did you say my name?"

Before he answered her, he wiped his mouth with a napkin. "No."

Another second and she heard her name louder and then louder again. "If it's not you then…" That's when she saw a blurred figure appear in the mirror behind the conference desk. Immediately, she walked over and the fuzzy figure began to clear. "John?" she questioned as his curly wild hair and beard came into view.

"REGGIE!" he bellowed at the mirror, poking it.

"John, you don't have to scream. I can hear you."

"Reg! This bloody small magic mirror works, thank god." He said back, a little exacerbated.

"I told you it would. Is everything ok?" Now she leaned against the table, concern coating her voice.

"I'm glad I got a hold of you. Things could be better Reg." Rob sighed as he rubbed his tired looking eyes. "We need your help."

"With what? You look like shit, by the way" coming closer to the mirror, her jitteriness only increased at his words and her stomach lurched into her chest at his next words.

" Thanks for that…It's Roland. He's not good and we don't know what to do."

With Rob on her tail, insisting she not go to the Enchanted Forest alone, she made her way to her vault and retrieved the apprentice's wand. With a slow swirl, she called forth her magic and the wand glowed purple before she summoned the door to the land she hated with a passion. But this was for Roland, she was worried about him, and she would do anything for her little knight.

After the door appeared, she thought of Roland with the Merry Men as her and Rob stepped through the doorway. Once through the portal, they stepped right into the outskirts of the merry men camp. Not even looking to see if Rob was behind her, Regina ran, stopped once she made it to the middle of camp, and hollered for Little John who poked his head out of tent. Quickly coming out, he barreled his way to her and embraced her into a bear hug. "It's great to see you, Reg."

"You too." She laughed as he let her go.

Nodding his head, Little John gestured towards Rob behind her. "Whose this?"

Turning, she introduced them pointing towards him. "Oh this is a friend, Rob. And Rob this is Little John."

"Hmmm…" Little John hummed in suspicion before reaching out for a handshake. "Nice to meet you."

Taking his hand, Rob nodded in greeting as Little John continued to eye him before turning his attention back to Regina when she called his name.

"Where's Roland?" Regina asked as John turned them to sit down on a log by the low fire of the afternoon.

"He's out with tuck collecting firewood and foraging. I wanted to talk to you alone about what's going on."

Gripping his arm, she squeezed it in comfort, scared about what John was about to share with him. "Tell me, what's going on. You look so tired."

"Aye. I am." Little John nodded his head as he continued to stare ahead at the fire. "Roland is having a tough time. During the day he is ok, a little quiet and says he misses his Papa, but ok. Most nights are another story." Pausing a moment, he looked towards Regina with sadness in his eyes. "He's been having nightmares and more recently wetting the bed with them."

Regina sighed, blinking back the tears threatening to make their presence. No child should have to go through this. "How long?"

"The nightmares have been going on longer. The wetting his bed, about two weeks. We've tried everything Reg but nothing seems to help." He was choking on his words by the end. "He calls out for Robin but he'll never come again."

"Did he tell you what the nightmares were about?" she questioned, concern lacing her tone.

"No." John whispered as he kicked some dirt around with his boot. "Says they are too scary. We tried to get him to open up about it but he just won't."

"He shouldn't have to go through this. Robin should be here. I'm sorry, John." She murmured in guilt.

"Hey." Cutting her off, John put his arm around her shoulders in comfort. "None of us blame you for one second. Robin loved you and being the honorable man he was, he would have never let you take that lightning bolt. Don't you feel like it's your fault for one moment."

"It feels like it is." She mumbled as she batted away the tears that fell.

"Well its not and knowing Robin the way I do, he wouldn't want you to feel this way, ok. End of story."

Nodding, she leaned further into John. "So how can I help?"

"We thought it might be good for him to spend some time with you are Henry. Maybe take him for a long weekend and see how it goes. Maybe he will open up to you. Then take it from there. I think Roland needs ALL of his family right now." John looked towards her once he said family.

Regina smiled at him in appreciation and nodded her head. "I would love to have him."

"Good then its decided. Why don't you stay for dinner? Fresh turkey tonight."

"I don't have to gut it do? I am the Queen in this realm." She sassed at him.

"If we let you do that, we never eat." John deadpanned at her.

"True." Regina laughed.

Sitting in silence for a few minutes, the two just stared into the embers of the fire before they heard the scream of a little boy.

"R'gina!" Dropping the fire wood he was carrying, he ran to her and she swooped him up easily, clutching him close with his arms around her neck, legs around her waist, and head buried in her neck.

"Hello, my little knight. I missed you." Whispering into his ear, she couldn't even think about letting him go ever again.

"I missed you too, my majesty." To see her better, he pulled back a smidgen and laid his little hands on her shoulders. "Why are you here?"

"To see you of course." Nuzzling her nose against his, she gave him an Eskimo kiss.

His face lit up. "Really!" he screamed in excitement.

"And you know what?" she asked him, finger poking his stomach.

"What?" he asked happily.

"Your uncle john and I were talking and we thought you'd like to come back to Storybrooke for a visit. I'm sure Henry would be excited to see you and your sister! Would you like that?"

"I would LOVE that!" Both laughed as they hugged each other once again before Regina put him down and they made their way over to a log to sit down.

They had stayed for dinner that included a hearty Turkey stew, which to Regina's surprise, was actually quite delicious. Regina had introduced Roland to Rob and the young boy had taken to him quite instantly. Watching the two play together, the same could also be said for Rob. Right now the two were sharing quite the game of hide and seek together. During the missing year, Roland had loved that game then too.

Suddenly, John had sat down next to her and presented her with a mug of Ale to which she had accepted with a smile as a thank you. The two sat sipping their ale until John broke the silence. "So. It may not be my place to pry but you and Rob, are you a thing?" Now he looked at her with a raised eyebrow, pointing back and forth between the two.

Glancing towards him, she looked at him with wide eyes. "No. God no. We are just friends. Why do you ask?"

John shrugged. "Ever since you guys got here, he can't seem to not keep looking to check on you, as if he is your protector."

"I don't need anyone to protect me, john." She spat before taking another sip of ale. "But we are friends and he seems to do that without question."

Looking down at his mug, John nodded at her comment before looking up again. "I sat near him at dinner and we chatted a bit. Seems like a nice chap but…" John paused a moment, unsure if he should say what he wanted to.

"But what?" Regina questioned him.

John looked to her before answering. "but he eerily reminds me of Robin. Is that just me? Maybe I just miss my friend and projecting that onto him."

"me too but there I times I get the same feeling as you do. Did Robin have a brother I didn't know about?" she laughed at her question awkwardly, thinking that she was glad she wasn't the only one who noticed.

"yes." As john went to take a swig of ale, he laughed gruffly into his mug. "but looks nothing like Rob and is a bit of an arse."

"Oh." Regina said with a hint of sadness, realizing there was so much her and Robin never got to talk about."I guess it's just pure coincidence then." She laughed, trying to cover up her emotions, not really sure if she believed her own words.

"Yes pure coincidence you act with him just as you did with Robin during the missing year."

She looked at him a little miffed. "What are you getting at John?"

"What I'm getting at is Robin would want you to be happy and the way I saw you two interact, even just today, says this could end up more than friendship eventually. If we go by how you acted with Robin."

Her stomach dropped as their interactions, especially the ones early on, flashed through her mind. It hit her like a freight train. She hadn't even realized it but John was right. Could she, if she doesn't now, eventually feel something for Rob? How could she ever move on from the one who was prophesized as her soul mate? No, that would be just wrong. "My heart is buried in the ground with Robin. It's t-t-too soon. I c-could never." She muttered in embarrassment or guilt, not sure of which one.

"Hey. Look at me." John placed his hand on her shoulder to get her attention and it did cause her to look up, a single tear escaping and dropping quickly to the ground. "There's no reason to feel guilty. All Robin ever wanted for you was to find your happiness, whether he was a part of it or not. Of course he always preferred to be a part of that but I said eventually not tomorrow, ok. After you have had the proper time to heal, no matter how long that is, no one would begrudge you, especially Robin."

Looking down at her mug, she swirled what was left in her mug as she nodded in reply.

John sighed before he continued. "In the future, you and Rob could stay friends or you could become more. Either is ok. But you have to promise me one thing?"

Regina looked up at him, seeing a playful grin on his face. "What?"

"If it does become more, promise me you'll let me have the "big brother" talk with him that if he hurts you, I'll punch his face in."

Looking up at him, she laughed as he gripped her into a friendly side hug. "You'll be one of the first in line."

Things turned into a party of celebration and remembrance of Robin, something that was interrupted all those weeks ago. They sang and danced around the camp fire. Then eventually it turned into the many tales of Robin Hood. One after the other, each merry man shared a story of Robin and it was magnificent to hear. At some point, Roland had come to sit next to her and cuddled into her as stories of his father continued. Right about when John was telling the story of when they stole Robin's clothes as he bathed in the river, she looked down and noticed Roland was fast asleep.

Being careful not to wake him, she gently lifted him and tucked him into the bed inside his tent. Brushing back his curls, she kissed his forehead and wished him sweet dreams, hating that he was having to go through this. If anything, it was most unfair that this little boy had to grow up without his father and she started to get choked up at the thought. Waiting a few more moments, she stayed and made sure he stayed in a restful sleep before she got up and left the tent.

It seemed most had decided to retire to their tents with the plans for an early morning on the books. Rob had offered for them to stay as it was late. Rob said he would happy to just sleep by the fire being that it was a beautiful night, if he could just be spared a blanket and pillow. John was happy to oblige.

After Rob was situated, john led Regina over to a tent that seemed just a bit larger than the others.

"It was Robin's. It's the only extra one we have. We left it up. We just couldn't take it down. If you're too uncomfortable, I can clean up my tent and you could stay in there and I could stay—"

Regina cut him off with a lift of her palm. "I will be fine in here and I am not surprised you don't clean up after yourself." She teased him with a smile to which he chuckled in reply.

They wished one another goodnight and she hesitantly opened the tent flap to make her way inside. Once inside, she scanned the very simple contents of the tent. A bed with fur blankets sat in the corner with a small nightstand next to it, candles decorating the top. Beside that was a small chest. Sitting down on the bed, she took her jacket and shoes off and went to tuck herself in underneath the blankets. Immediately, she noticed that the bed still smelled of him and it made her heart ache. How she missed that smell of forest.

Sighing, she closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep but she started to shiver again, even under the heavy Pallets. Rolling her eyes in annoyance, she got up and went to look for another blanket in the chest. It did tend to get chilly at night in the Enchanted Forest (she even scoffed at her own thought). Upon opening it, right on top was his forest green cloak that he wore in this world. What the hell, she thought as she grabbed it and swung it around in order to cover herself. Like magic, her shivers stopped. This made her really recognize that anything that was Robin's was the only thing that could warm her up. That and she had begun to notice the coldness stopped when she was around Rob. What that meant she didn't know. Was it a side effect of losing your soulmate? Maybe people aren't meant to lose their soulmates? Why did the shivers get better when Rob was around? There were many questions with no answers and she was too tired to figure it out.

As she went to close the chest lid to slip back into bed, a glitter of gold caught her eye. Moving a side the other essential items in the trunk, her breath caught in her throat at what she saw on the bottom of trunk. Lying right there in front of her, on the bottom of the trunk, was the quiver of golden arrows she had given Robin during the missing year. She carefully reached and pulled the quiver of arrows out and clasped it against the chest. Taking a single arrow out, she climbed back into bed with Robin's cape still around shoulders and placed the arrow next to her, rolling it in her fingers. She smiled before she finally let sleep take her, knowing she would eventually give the arrows to Roland and she was toasty warm.

The following morning, Roland was so excited to go back Storybrooke they didn't even stay for breakfast. All he could talk about were Granny's special apple pancakes and seeing Henry after he had jumped into her bed and cuddled with her. So her, Roland, and Mr. Rob, the name Roland now used for him, made their way back to Storybrooke and met Henry for breakfast. If she snuck the arrows and cape out with an invisibility spell, well that was her business.

After their bellies were full with pancakes and eggs, Rob excused himself claiming he had things to do and Regina should spend some time alone with the boys. He promised he would catch up with them later.

So Regina spent the day with Henry and Roland doing whatever they wanted. For most of the morning and early afternoon, they spend the day at the park running around, feeding ducks, using their imagination on the playground, and whatever else they could think of doing. After the park, Regina took the boys home for a quick lunch before they made their way to the grocery store to buy ingredients for the lasagna Roland had requested. As Henry loved Regina's lasagna, he quickly agreed this was a good choice.

Now they all sat around enjoying the fruits of Regina's labor that lead the delioucousness that was her lasagna. As she ate, she just watched as Henry and Roland shared stores between themselves. This is how it was supposed to be, only there was someone missing. This thought led her to look at the empty chair at the end of the table where Robin would have been sitting. Henry must have noticed that she got quit. "You ok, Mom?"

"I'm fine sweetheart." She cleared her throat. "So…What did you boys want to do tonight?" Both of them just shrugged with answering her. "Ok. How about a movie then?"

"Can we have popcorn!?" Roland asked with childhood excitement as they didn't have this in the Enchanted forest.

"Of course we can." Regina replied as she watched his face light up in Glee.

The trio quickly finished eating, cleaned up the table and kitchen, and then changed into their pajamas for the evening. After they had chosen a movie, the little rascals, they all snuggled on the couch together with Regina holding the popcorn in the middle to share. As both lays laid their head on her shoulders, she couldn't help but think this is the best day she had in awhile.

Once the movie was over, Henry had gone to his room to play some video games while Regina tucked Roland into bed. Snuggling together on the bed in the spare room, the two read The Cat in the Hat Together. Regina couldn't help but chuckle as she remembered Robin would question what would a cat want with a hat when Roland chose it to read. Somewhere in the middle of the story, she looked down and noticed Roland had fallen fast asleep. Not only tired from their busy day, the nightmares he was having was obviously keeping him from getting a restful sleep. Gingerly, she escaped the bed without waking Roland and tucked the blankets more securely around him. Once he was tucked in, she bent down and kissed him on his forehead. "Sweet dreams, my little night." She whispered to him, hoping it would help to keep away the nightmares.

After she had stopped in Henry's room, warning him not to stay up too late, she too made her way to bed and opened up the latest book she had meant to begin long ago. Eventually sleep had overcome her and she too joined the dream world, hoping not to have any nightmares herself.

But it seemed wishing away Roland's nightmares had not worked because around 2 AM she was awoken by sniffles and someone poking her arm as they whispered her name. Looking up, she blinked away the sleep from her eyes and waited for her vision to adjust to the darkness. Once her vision cleared, she saw Roland with big fat tears falling from his eyes. "I'm so sorry R'gina." He whimpered as he sniffed his nose and wiped away snot on his pajama sleeve "So sorry."

"What's wrong sweetheart? Did you have a bad dream?" She asked as she sat up and went to take Roland in her arms after he nodded his head in conferment. After she clutched his close, that's when she felt the wetness of his pajamas hit hers. Oh no, he wet the bed she thought and her heart instantly broke and she maybe hated herself a little more for causing this boy pain.

"I'm sorry, Regina. I'm so sorry. It was an accident. Please don't be mad at me." He cried then sniffled again before he buried his head into her neck.

The collar of her pajama top began to become moist from his tears. "shhhh. It's ok. Of course it was an accident."

"I wet the bed like a little baby would." He mumbled into her neck. "Please don't be mad at me Gina."

"I'm not mad." She said as she pulled away from him just a bit to look at him and wipe the tear tracks away.

"Really?" He questioned with a nervous gulp. "But I'm supposed to be Papa's big boy and your brave little knight."

"Really." She paused giving him an Eskimo kiss. " And you're still Papa's big boy and my brave little knight. Let me ask you this, did you have a scary dream?"

Roland just nodded his head in reply, looking embarrassed as he fiddled nervously with one of shirt buttons.

With her index finger, she tilted his chin up to get him to make eye contact. "Sometimes these things happen when we get scared and that's ok."

"But I'm your little knight, I shouldn't get scared." He said like it was the most common knowledge that everyone knew.

"Even brave knights gets scared every once in awhile." She poked his noise with her index finger.

"Really?" he questioned.

Regina nodded her head before she decided to tell him a story that would hopefully make him giggle. "Yes. One of my knights used to be deathly scared of snakes, so some of the other knights decided to play a little joke on him. One afternoon, after he fell asleep in the courtyard, his friends took advantage of him by placing a rubber snake right next to his head where he was sleeping. Upon waking, the first thing he saw was that snake. He shrieked at the top of his lungs and scrambled to his feet In order to run away from the snake. When he stopped running, he looked down and noticed he had wet himself while the others looked on and howled in laughter at him. He immediately ran after the other knights in retaliation."

"That's not nice." Roland replied. "Did your knight get revenge?"

"Oh he did and his prank was even better. While they were in the river bathing, he stole the others clothes and made them walk through the kingdom with no clothes trying to cover themselves with weeds and branches. " She bopped her nose with his as he laughed. "And until we came to this world, he was my most trusted and strongest knight. He was the smartest too." She paused at that letting Roland take in the story as his giggles subsided. "Why don't we take and get you cleaned up, ok."

"ok." he said quietly as Regina lifted him on her hip and he snuggled into her as she carried him into the bathroom. After she placed him to sit on the toilet, she turned to fill the tub, making sure the water wasn't too hot. Then she turned back to Roland. "Why don't we get you out of those yucky PJ's, hmm?" she asked him before going to help take his shirt over his head. "I stink." He groaned after his head popped out of his shirt.

"Well it's a good thing I still have that strawberry soap you love so much."

He giggled. "It's smells so good. Like you could eat it."

"except we better not do that." Regina giggled too as she helped him out of his dirty pajama pants, leaving him in his little batman underwear. "Want to help me swirl the soap in?"

He nodded his head vigorously and then helped to swirl the water around as Regina poured a good helping of the soap in. After throwing some toys into the tub, he took off the final of the dirty clothes and Regina helped him into the tub. Regina started by wetting his head, pouring water over it with a cup. "You know, little john tells me you've been having nightmares for awhile?

Roland confirmed her suspicions with a nod, not looking up in embarrassment as he played with the toy boating, pushing it back and forth through the water.

"You want to tell me about them?" She asked as she leaned with crossed arms on top of the tub, hoping that getting him to open up would lessen the nightmares.

Without a word, he just shook his head, poking at the rubber duck that made its way in front of him.

"You know, people tell me that if you talk about the nightmares, it helps to make them go away." Sadness enveloped her heart as Roland just shrugged his shoulders in defeat as he squeezed the duck. She sighed, knowing what his nightmares were probably about and that only one thing would probably make him open up. So she had to change tactics and maybe open up herself as well. It broke her heart that someone his age had to go through this. "You know, I've been having some bad dreams too and they scare me. It's ok to be scared. It's how we face it that matters."

At this, Roland peaked up at her, clearly a little nervous. "Really?" He asked as she nodded in return, waiting to see if he would ask any further questions. "What are your scarey dreams about?" he asked, looking at her in curiosity with a tilt of his head.

"Your daddy and missing him." She whispered, trying to hold back her tears and not wanting him to see her sad and upsetting him more.

"Me too." Roland looked away and swirled some bubbles in front of him. "Bad things always happen to him. Like he gets hurt. I wake up scared and wish he was here."

"Me too." Regina tried to comfort him by running her fingers through his hair gently. "But know that little john, the merry men, and I are here for you Roland if you ever wake up scared ok. We will scare those nightmares right away, ok?"

"ok." he whispered in reponse.

"You know what I think would help?"

"What?" he asked, looking at her with wide eyes.

"Do John and the other men talk about your papa and tell you stories? Like they did around the fire yesterday?"

"Sometimes."

"well how about I ask them to tell you more stories and I'll try to talk about him more too. We could also go visit him tomorrow, if you'd like that, and I could call Zelena so you could see your sister tomorrow too. Would you like that?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "I would like that."

"Good." She then kissed his forehead. "Lets finish your bath and get you back to bed. It's late."

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" he asked a little sheepishly.

Cupping his cheek as she kissed the other, she replied, "Of course, my little knight. Maybe we can keep each other's nightmares away."

Regina helped Roland finished getting cleaned up before she helped him out of the tub, smelling his hair saying he did indeed smell like strawberry shortcake. After helping him into a clean pair of super hero under wear, Roland asked about his dirty sheets and of course Regina had already used her magic to send them into the washing machine, along with his dirty pajamas, and replaced them with new ones. Then she helped him into his chosen batman pajamas because he was also known as the black knight and he was Regina's little knight.

After he was all dressed and she dried herself off a bit, she took his hand and they made their way back to her bedroom. Unable to help herself, she peaked in on Henry, glad to see that they hadn't woken him up.

Once they entered her room, Roland scurried up onto bed as she dragged the covers back and they both snuggled under the covers. "Goodnight roland." She said running her fingers through his hair and kissed his cheek. "I'll be right here if you need me, ok. I'm not going anywhere."

"You promise?" he asked.

"I promise." She choked a little on her words, indeed knowing that he was asking her, maybe not even knowing it himself, not to go away like his mommy and daddy and she would do her best to never break this promise. "Pinky swear promise." Holding up her finger to him, she wanted to seal the deal officially.

With a bright child like smile, he linked his finger with hers. "Good night, roland. Sweet dreams." Then she pecked their linked fingers before letting go.

"Goodnight Gina. I love you." He whispered sleepily as he cuddled into her.

Wrapping her arm around him, she gently caressed his back in order to sooth him back to sleep. Her eyes were glassy as she kissed the top of head. "I love you too, Roland."

 **The next day…**

In the morning, Regina woke up to Roland still sound asleep and cuddled up next to her. She smiled gently at him as she stroked his curls and kissed his head, happy that he was here. Eventually, she heard the slumping steps of teenage feet and then the door creaking open to reveal Henry. Without a word, she pulled back the sheets to invite him in and he happily joined them, cuddling into her on the other side.

"Everything ok, ma." He asked as she pecked his head good morning. "Roland started off in the guest room."

"Yeah." She sighed. "He had a nightmare. He finally opened up a little last night that he dreams about Robin getting hurt."

"Poor, kid." Henry commented with sadness in his voice. "He shouldn't have to go through this."

"No, he shouldn't." Regina replied.

"I guess we just have to be there for him and make sure he knows that he's not alone. That he still has family."

"You're right and I'm so proud of the loving and caring young man you're becoming Henry." She complimented her son, thinking of how happy she was to have him.

In the next couple of minutes, Roland woke up, thankfully still dry, and immediately said that he was hungry. So before Henry went over to Emma's for the day, they all sat down to have a breakfast of Omelette's together. Then after Henry left, Regina and Roland got dressed so she could take him to his father's gravesite.

Once there, Roland placed the wildflowers he had picked for his father and told him everything he had been doing in the Enchanted Forest. Sometimes he would pause and Regina wondered if he did that to see if his father would answer him. But he always continued on and told him of all the adventures he was having with john and the other merry men. Once he finished with his stories, he told his papa that he missed him a lot and that he loved him very much. At this point, Regina couldn't hold her tears back anymore seeing Roland talk to his father's grave.

Roland looked up at her with wide eyes. "Don't be sad, Gina. Everything will be ok."

"I'm sorry, Roland. I just miss him." She replied as he met his eyes and hugged him closer.

"Me too." Roland whispered as he and Regina turned back to the gravestone. "but papa is watching over us with the rest of the angels and Uncle John says he will always be with his, right here." Lifting himself up on his tippy toes, he pointed toward Regina's chest and to her heart.

Tilting her head up, she sighed, wishing she had the mindset of a young child. She would never tell Roland what really happened to his father and take away all hope. That happened to her and she would not let that happen to him. So she looked back down to him. "Yes he is Roland and he would be very so proud of you and Little John is right, he will live on through us in our hearts." Maybe, no matter Hades said, Robin lived on through his children, through their love that was very real without illusion, and that could never be obliterated.

After a little more time, the two said goodbye with a blowing kiss and turned to leave the cemetery. Thinking Roland needed a bit of cheering up, she took him to the play castle she had built for Henry and he instantly fell in love with it. Eventually Zelena showed up with baby Robyn and For most of the afternoon he played and visited with his sister. Regina tried to make conversation with her sister but mostly concentrated on the children. Eventually Zelena and baby Robyn left, which Roland was a little sad about but Regina assured him he would be seeing more of his sister now.

Roland came and sat with Regina for awhile until Rob happened to come by and see them. Immediately, Roland asked him if he would play dragon and the Queen with them and of course Rob could not say no to the boy. So Mr. Rob, Regina, and Roland spent the rest of the afternoon together with Roland playing Regina's brave knight who was protecting his queen from the ugly dragon.

When Regina said it was time to get home, Roland was so excited to have Mr. Rob around that he asked if he could come to dinner. Rob of course gave her a cheeky smile to which she just rolled her eyes before she had agreed.

So for the rest of the evening, the three ate home made pizza, played games and legos, and watched movies as they ate ice cream together. Honestly, after seeing how Rob interacted with Roland, she was surprised to see that he was so good around children.

The rest of the weekend was filled with fun, laugher, spending the rainy afternoon at the arcade, animated stories over meals, and sweet Roland snuggles that even Henry took part in at times even though he was at the age when snuggling with mom was "not cool." As Roland slept cuddled against Regina's side in her bed, as he was too scared to sleep in his own, she couldn't help but dread bringing him back to the merry men.

Monday evening came way too quickly as she found herself with Roland standing in front of the door to Sherwood forest, not wanting to go through. She wanted to keep Roland with her and protect him from the cruelty of the world but he has known the merry men all of his life and won't take that away from him. She tried to do that with Henry and that got her nowhere, only leading to Henry pulling away from her. Henry was right, Roland needs all of his family around.

So with Roland's hand in hers, she guided him through the door to where Sherwood Forest and the Merry Men awaited. The door pulled them through and they landed right in front of the camp with all the men excited to see Roland back. After Roland hugged john, he scampered off to greet the other men while Regina talked to John, filling him in about what happened over the weekend. Even though he did have an accident, after the talk they shared, he seemed to be doing better

After her and john were done talking, Regina went over to wish the merry men a goodnight. Roland came up to her with wide eyes as he spoke. "Regina, aren't you staying?" he asked with worry in voice.

Bending down, Regina met him face to face. "I have to go back to storybrooke and you are going to stay here with the merry men, like you have been."

"Nooooo! Don't leave me!" Roland whined as he climbed up onto Regina's lap and clutched her close, hands balled into white fists around her shirt. "You promised you wouldn't leave me!"

"Oh Roland, I love you so much and I promise I will be back but what about John and your other uncles. They love you so much. And what about your little friends John said you had made, they would miss you."

"We could visit." He sniffed before wiping his nose against her shirt. "and I don't have any friends."

"What do you mean by that?" she pulled away a little to look at him. "John said you were around other kids and playing with them."

"No." he said sadly. "They're mean to me."

"What do you mean they're mean to you?" she asked with concern.

"They call me names." He muttered softly, barely high enough she could hear.

"What do they call you Roland?" she asked, trying not to get angry. She would roast those kids parents for their kids causing this child any distress. No one hurts him. But Roland didn't answer her and just looked down at his boots, playing with a lose shoe lace in embarrassment. Taking his chin in her fingers, she gently lifted his eyes to meet hers. "What do the other kids call you, Roland?" she asked gently

Tear threatened to fall and his lips trembled as he answered her dejected. "They call me little orphan boy, that orphan kid, or…" he paused for a moment as he choked on his words. She gave him a moment to finish, but she could already feel the anger invading her veins with her blood at a low simmer, waiting to boil over. "That kid with no parents."

Roland bawled now and buried his head into her shoulder once again. "Oh Roland. You have parents and they are always with you and they love you very much. So do I, and the merry men ,and henry, and Miss Emma, and the charmings." Stopping briefly, she had to swallow the lump that developed in her throat. "You will never be alone." She whispered. "I won't let that happen.' Taking a moment, she let Roland whimper in her arms rocking him back and forth, now understanding even more that this was adding to the cause of the nightmares. He was afraid of losing more people he loved, like her.

Eventually, Roland pulled back and rubbed his with his small fists and wiped his cheeks as he sniffled away the remaining tears. He looked up at her. "Regina?" he asked.

"Yes baby" she answered him, wiping away the tears he missed with her thumbs.

" 'Member when you told me why Henry has two mommies?"

"yes…" she drew out the word with curiosity, not sure where he was going with this.

"You said that Henry grew in Miss Emma's tummy but her and Mr. Neal couldn't take care of him, so you 'dopted him and he became your son and you his mommy and you love him just like he did grow in your tummy?"

"Uh huh." She said, a little stunned and not taking her eyes off of him, beginning to understand where he may be going with this.

"well…my mama and papa aren't here to take care of me…so…" he looked down and played with the collar of her shirt as he said the next part. "maybe you could 'dopt me like you 'dopted Henry." As she gasped while being stunned by his words, he looked up at her with hopeful eyes.

Her own eyes turned glassy with threatening tears, as she cupped his head with both hands, the tips of her thumbs rubbing his chubby cheeks. The little boy in front of him was choosing her and asking for her to choose him in return. How could she refuse him? This little boy deserved all the love in the world. He too deserved his best chance.

"Is that what you want, Roland?" she asked, needing to make sure he was certain.

"You do everything mommies are supposed to do." He shrugged his shoulders as if the whole world already knew this. "and when I am with you, I feel like I did when I was with papa. Like I'm home."

"Oh, Roland." She hugged him close to her again as she whispered into his ear. "Nothing would make me happier to officially call you my son." Over Roland's shoulder, she saw little john crying and flicking away his tears. Pulling back, she told Roland to go over with tuck and that she wasn't going anywhere except to talk to talk to his Uncle John.

Before she got up, she watched Roland run over to tuck and then she made her way over to John with hesitant steps who was blowing his nose with sounds that could rival a balloon losing its helium. "John." She started, her voice cracking a bit in nervousness. "You heard all of that, didn't you?"

"I did." He answered her.

"I would never want to take Roland away from you…" She wanted to reason with him, knowing that she didn't want to take him away from the people he had known his whole life.

"Stop!" he cut her off a little gruffly and held up his palm to her. Had he done that when they first most, he would have been roasted. "I know." His tone turned gentle again and a sad smile crossed his face.

"I would never want to take him away from the people he has known his whole life. I know he needs you and the other men and to know where he is from…" she continued to ramble on until John cut her off.

"If you'd stop rambling." He sassed as she glared back playfully in return. "I could finish saying I know and seems like what we thought our boy needed is totally different from what he actually needs."

A soft smile graced her face when John said "our boy." "Which is?"

"He needs all the support he could get but it seems he needs more full time the woman who protected him from flying monkeys, the woman who read him bed time stories and played games with him when her heart was hurting over losing her son, who baked apple pies with him, who soothed him when he cried, who kissed his scuffed knees better when Robin couldn't. He needs the only woman who showed him what it was like to have a mother."

Regina gasped, taken back by John's words. "But…but Robin would want him to know Sherwood, to be with you…"

Again, john cut her off but by grasping her shoulder's this time. "He will be and he will know Sherwood because we will come up with a visiting schedule. He needs proper schooling. So maybe during the school year he could visit on weekends and a longer stay during summers. We'll celebrate holidays together. If I'm being honest, with the Evil Queen gone, Storybrooke is safer right now. There's gouls, goblins, and ogres rampaging these lands, so we need to help the remaining people here. When it's safe, maybe we can return to Storybrooke. We can do this together."

"ok." regina nodded as she wiped her nose on her sleeve and sniffled.

"Robin would want what was best for his boy and right now, that's you, Reg. That's apparent. I haven't seen him this happy in weeks. He deserves his best chance and right now that seems to be with you." He squeezed her shoulders again. "We will come up with a more definite schedule later by talking through that mirror of yours. It's easy to get back and forth with that wand. But right now, you need to take our little lad ?"

John enveloped her into a bear hug before she went to collect Roland and say goodbye to the men, letting him know that he would be back for a visit soon.

The bell above the door at the diner jingled, causing Henry to look up and see his mom being tugged in by Roland, who was happy to see Henry. With curious eyes, he watched as Roland and Regina made his way towards them.

"Roland, why don't you go say hi to Granny and Red. I'm sure they will be happy to see you. You can tell them what you want to eat?" she told Roland, wanting to steal a few minutes alone with Henry. After she watched him skip over and climb on one of the stools, she sat down and looked at Henry who was smirking at her.

"So…I thought Roland was supposed to go back to the merry men, tonight?" he asked before he sipped on his soda.

"yeah." She cleared her throat. "I wanted to talk to you about that."

"ok." henry replied, prompting her to continue

"Before I ask, I want you to know I won't do this without your ok. I wanted to talk to you before I made a definite decision."

"Mom, spit it out." Henry's patience was growing thin as his mom rambled.

"Well…I wanted to know what you thought about making Roland a more permanent part of our little family?" she questioned a little nervously as she fiddled with the silver wear in front of her.

Henry smiled at his mom, instantly knowing where she was going with this. "like you adopting him?" he asked.

A little tentative, she nodded her head in response, anxious as to what he would say.

Taking a moment, Henry thought about this as he tapped his finger against his chin and then a wide smile graced his face. "I have always asked you for a little brother and it feels like he was supposed to be a part of this family. So I think it's a great idea."

Smiling, she reached across the table and squeezed his hand. "You sure. Say the word henry…"

"Mom." He cut her off. "I'm sure. You did say before that one day I'll have more family than I know what to do with."

"I did say that, didn't I?"

"You did and maybe this is supposed to be apart of that. Besides you're a pretty great mom. You gave me my best chance. So…"

She smiled at him but Before Regina could even respond, Roland came back over and scrambled into the seat next to Regina asking what they were talking about. The two laughed and Regina said they were talking about how the three of them were going to be a family, which made Roland very happy.

With Roland back, they all looked thru the menu and ordered their dinner when Ruby came over. While waiting for their food, Henry took Roland over to the jukebox and showed the very animated boy what songs were available. As Regina watched them, she didn't notice that Rob came down the stairs and was standing next her watching as well. "I thought the little lad was supposed to go back tonight?" he asked her, causing her to jump in her seat. "Sorry about that."

Regina just glowered in annoyance at him. "plans changed." She explained as she stirred her ice water with the straw. "Both the merry men and I will take care of him but I'm going to adopt him."

Rob tried to hide it but his face lit up with a smile. "Really?" he asked.

"Yes." She cleared her voice and flicked her eyes back up to him. "He asked me actually. How could I say no?"

Rob studied her a moment before he replied. "Is that something you want too."

Her eyes started to glass over as she nodded with a sad smile. "Yes. I love him as if he were my own by blood. When Robin was here, it felt like things were headed this way. All of us becoming a family but…"

"but what?" Rob stopped her before she continued. "What makes you hesitant?"

"I'm not sure if this is what Robin would have wanted?" she answered him.

"Let me ask you this?" he said, trying to get her attention and she did look up. "Robin would want what was best for his son, yes?" Regina nodded and waited for him to go on. "He wasn't doing so well but then you had him for a visit and things seemed to get better, yes?"

"Yes." She smiled.

"Then isn't it clear he should be here and what he needed?"

"Which is?" Regina prompted him with a hand gesture to get to the point.

"The touch of a mother." He said to her with a knowing smile.

After he said this, hair stood up on her neck and memories of Robin saying those exact words in her mothers crypt flashed before her eyes. She was so stunned by this, she didn't even get a chance to respond as Rob said he had to run and almost literally ran out of the place. Staring at the door, she couldn't help to ask herself who this man because there is something he was not telling her but it seemed like she would have to save this conversation for another time.

A few moments later, Ruby brought over their food which prompted the boys to return to their booth and take Regina out of her reverie. Immediately, the boys started to dig with vigor into their food and Regina had to tell them to slow down. As she watched them eat and chat between themselves, she couldn't help but think this is the closest she has felt to being content since Robin sacrificed himself. Yes sitting here with her two boys helped to heal her soul.

Uh oh…Regina is getting suspicious. So? Good? Let me know what you think. Hope this heals the soul a little after today bc there's no reason Regina and the Merry men couldn't have raised Roland together.


	12. Chapter 12:At Home in the World

AN: An added drabble for outlaw queen day and right on time.

Sandpiper: SO everyone can know, Regina thinks Robin would want him to know where he was from and be with the merry men.

Phoebesmilee and Guest: glad you liked the chapter! I also cried a little while writing it.

Other guest: Regina isn't falling for Rob. Does she feel some sort of pull towards him? Yes. After all wouldn't Robin feel some sort of pull towards the evil queen. This is robin, remember?

Without further adoo, chapter 12. Forgive bc mistakes are all mine. No beta.

Chapter 12: At Home in the World.

 _Hold on, to me as we go  
As we roll down this unfamiliar road  
And although this wave is stringing us along  
Just know you're not alone  
Cause I'm going to make this place your home_

 _Settle down, it'll all be clear  
Don't pay no mind to the demons  
They fill you with fear  
The trouble it might drag you down  
If you get lost, you can always be found_

 _Just know you're not alone  
Cause I'm going to make this place your home  
Phillip Phillips—Home _

Immediately after dinner, Regina took a sleepy Roland and Henry home. While Henry ran to the living room to play his video games, she took Roland upstairs to the room she had intended to become his. Once she opened the door and turned the light on, Roland peaked his head out from her neck. "We're home, Gina?" he asked a little sleepy as he rubbed his small fist against his eye.

"Yes, Sweetheart." Regina smiled down at him

"Is this going to be where I sleep?"

"Yes, baby." She said as she swiped her fingers through his hair. "You're going to get your very own room and you know what?"

"What!?" he popped his head up in excitement in order to look at her better.

"I thought we could decorate it exactly how you would like."

"Really?!" he asked with thrill in his voice.

"Yes." She bopped him on the nose with her forefinger." "And I thought we could cheat just a little and use magic, so you will feel at home right away."

"Ok." Roland agreed. "How will that work?"

"Well, I want you to close your eyes and imagine how you want to room to be. I'll also add in some of my own touches and things you may not think of. Does that work for you?" Roland nodded his head enthusiastically. "Good. Now close your eyes and imagine how you want your room to be."

So Roland did as directed, shut his eyes, and imagined how he wanted his room to be. He knew he wanted it to be green like the forest and used inspiration from Henry's room that he loved so much. Once Regina saw that he was concentrating, she raised her hand, called forth her magic, and waved it slowly from left to right, watching as the room changed from the dull guest room into the fun room of a playful child. A forest green hue took over the walls with a forest theme animal border adorning the top of the walls with a single size bed with a forest theme covering it in the middle. His prized monkey sat in the middle of the bed. There was a cherry oak dresser and student desk opposite of the bed that she had added in for him, knowing she would enroll him in school in the fall. Next to the bed was a matching bed side table with a monkey lamp sitting on top of it and alarm clock. Then in the corner of the room, stood a play tent that she had added in case Roland ever missed sleeping in one.

"You can open your eyes Roland." She whispered into his hear and he opened his eyes with a child like wonderment that only someone his age could have. He gasped. "This is all for me Gina!" Wriggling from her grasp, he ran to the middle of room and turned in wonderment. "Is that a tent? Indoors?"

Regina walked up to him and bent down with a smile at him. "Yes it is. I figured if you missed your one from the Enchanted Forest, you could sleep there, or if not, you could use it to play in."

"Wow! Cool!" he said as he went to the tent, slid in, and then poked his head out with a goofy smile. "I love this, Gina."

Regina kneeled down and laughed at his excitiement. "I'm so glad to hear that. I want you to feel at home here Roland." Before she could react, he jumped into her arms and squeezed her tight. "I missed you and Henry and being here."

"I missed you too my little knight and I want you to know, anytime you miss the merry men, you just tell me and we will go for a ." he nodded against her chest, his long curls hitting her chin as he did so. She would have to get him a haircut, his curls were becoming unruly. Leave it to men not to think about this. "I have one more surprise."

"Yeah! What?" he looked up at her.

"This." Waving her hand, the lights turned off and stars began to glow in the dark, adorning the entirety of the ceiling. "Awesome." Roland whispered as he looked up in wonderment at the ceiling.

She squeezed Roland, who now sat in her lap as he looked up the ceiling. "I know you and your father would watch the stars at night and he would tell you it was your loved ones that were no longer with us looking down on us. I want you to believe that your daddy is watching over us now and you can see the stars, even when you're in doors. Know that he is looking down at you and helping protect you from those nightmares. And I want you to look at me when I say this Roland."

Turning his neck, Roland looked over his shoulder at her. "No matter what those other children said, you are no orphan. Your Mama and Papa loved you SO much and You have me, Henry, and all your uncles. You will never be alone." She choked a little on her last words. Ever since Roland had told her what the other children called him, she couldn't help but to feel a little guilt over what happened to Emma and how she grew up without her family. She would not let that happen to Roland and she loved him as if she had given birth to him. Roland turned and hugged her like a koala bear hugged its mother. "I love you, Roland."

"I love you too, Gina."

After Regina gave him a squeezing hug, Roland crawled from her lap and laid down in the middle of floor, looking up at the ceiling. "What are you doing?" Regina asked him with a curious tip of her head.

"Laying down and Looking up at the stars like daddy and I used to do. Want to look with me?"

"Of course." Without hesitation, she laid down next to him and they looked up silently at the glow in the dark stars together. A few minutes later, the sounds of Henry's video games stopped and they heard incoming footsteps.

"Whoa! This room is cool." Henry said as he looked around the best he could with just the light from the hall way. His gaze eventually fell on the too laying in the middle of the room. "What are you two doing?"

They both looked towards Henry and Roland poked his little head up. "Looking up at the stars like my daddy and me used to do. They're not the same ones at outside but it's like we're outside. Want to join us?"

"Sure thing kid." Henry responded as he walked into the room and laid down on the other side of his mother. The three had situated themselves with Henry and Roland on either side of Regina who had her arms around each of her boys with their head pillowed on her shoulders. As the three of them just stared up at the glow in the dark stars on that carpeted floor, she couldn't help to think that she almost felt like she was home in the world. Almost.

"I Love both of you, so much." She whispered as she kissed both of their heads.

Popping his head up, Henry responded to her with a knowing grin. "We know mom and we love you too. You should also know that you'll never be alone again either." She smiled at him before the three of them continued to stare upwards.

Next Chapter: Best Friends Forever.


	13. Chapter 13: Best Friends Forever

AN: thanks for the reviews, follows, faves, and people who are sticking with me. Sorry for the wait but I was out of town for a wedding, then sick, and work is crazy this month so I doubt there will be a weekly update as before but I will try. We are getting close to what everyone is waiting for. As always excuse mistakes as they are mine.

 _I can't sleep tonight  
Wide awake and so confused  
Everything's in line  
But I am bruised  
I need a voice to echo  
I need a light to take me home  
I kinda need a hero  
Is it you?_

 _I never see the forest for the trees  
I could really use your melody  
Baby I'm a little blind  
I think it's time for you to find me_

 _Can you be my nightingale?  
Sing to me  
I know you're there  
You could be my sanity  
Bring me peace  
Sing me to sleep  
Say you'll be my nightingale  
Demi Lovato—nightingale _

Chapter 13: Best Friends Forever

The following morning, Regina once again found herself in front of Robin's resting site after she had gotten the boys up and gotten them breakfast. She needed to come here today to work through her insecurities about adopting Roland and if this is what Robin would really want. So she had asked Henry if he would mind watching Roland for a bit while she came here. Of course, being the wonderful young man he was, he had agreed.

Clutching the sunflowers, she trudged her way through the graveyard , automatically made her way to his engraved epitaph, and knelt down while placing the flowers on top.

"Hello, my love." She began while fiddling with her fingers nervously. "I told you I'd be back." She sighed and paused a moment. "I know, you never doubted I would be but I came here today because I need to talk things out, I need your reassurance." Tears threatened to fall once again but she choked them back. She almost felt silly for coming here, like he was going to answer her and tell her it was ok, that she was making the right decision. He knew that even after everything, she still didn't trust her instincts and was afraid of making the wrong decision, the decision that would hurt others.

" You already know it but Roland came to visit. The Merry men called me through the mirror I gave them. He wasn't doing too well—Nightmares and wetting the bed." She sniffed back the tears and wiped her nose. Even talking about the hurt Roland has been going thru gets to her. Of all things, It was most unfair that he had lost both his mother and father now. "So they called asking for my help and how could I say no? He had a nightmare and accident while here the first night." She choked, thinking about those big brown eyes filled with tears and embarrassment, afraid she would be disappointed in him but that could never happen.

"At first, he didn't want to open up but I shared that I too was having nightmares and he then told me that most of his nightmares were about something bad happening to you. It broke my heart to hear because a boy his age shouldn't to go thru this. You should be here!" Trying to calm her threatening emotions, she inhaled and exhaled a deep breath.

"Opening up seemed to help. He was able to fall asleep with me that night and sleep peacefully. The rest of the weekend I tried to fill with fun and laughter because that is what your boy deserves. Henry being the good boy he is entertained him, he saw his sister, played in the park, and even Rob played with him. Roland seems to like him, I hope that's ok. All I want is for him to be happy but don't worry no one could ever replace you." She stated nervously playing with her ring.

"Yesterday, I took him back to the Merry Men as he seemed to be doing better. The rest of the weekened he didn't have a nightmare or accident. But when I was about to leave he cried that he didn't want me to go and told me that the other children teased him,calling him orphan boy. It broke my heart. Children can be so cruel." Sniffling again, she swallowed down the ball that was forming in her throat

"He asked me to adopt him, Robin, like I did Henry. How could I say no to that?" she whispered the last part, emotion coating her voice. "You know I could never say no to him but…" she paused, wiping away the tear that threatened to fall.

"I question if this is what you would want or if you would want him to be in Sherwood with the Merry Men?" she gulped deeply, trying to keep her emotions at bay. "But it seems this is what Roland wants and the Merry Men and I are coming up with an agreement. During the school year, He will be with me full time and go with the Merry Men every other weekend. Summers he will spend more time with them. We agreed that this seemed best for him and that he needs everyone in his life right now. I just…this is so stupid but I feel like I need some sort of sign this is ok. That I'm making the right decision. I'm not trying to replace Marian. The Merry Men will make sure he knows the mother who gave birth to him but I can't help to love that boy as if he were my own."

Pinching her eyes shut, she huffed and bowed her head down, feeling stupid that she hoped she would get some sort of sign from him. Looking up and opening her eyes to look around, she waited not even know what she was waiting for. As she expected, nothing happened. How stupid could she be? Waiting for a sign, ridiculous she thought before she stood up to leave.

AS she was about to turn around, a bird swooped in and landed on top of the tombstone, pecked at the flowers she left, and then looked at her with a tilt of its black—brown head before it puffed out it's orange chest. It was then that she realized this bird was a Robin and she smiled when the bird fluttered over to her shoulder, pecking at ear gently, as if saying are you listening to yourself and the ridiculousness of what you're saying. The bird then hopped up on top of her head and perched there. "Do you think you're funny." she snarked at the bird as she looked up at it annoyed. "You better not shit on my head. Get down from there." She scowled at the bird but it didn't listen and stayed right where it was.

Rolling her eyes, if this was the sign, it did have Robin written all over it. Stubborn ol' Bird. "Get down now." She warned in her best Queenly tone. "Get down now or I'm sure there's a cat around here whom could go for a nice snack." Was she really talking to a bird?

The threat seemed to work because the bird hopped back down to her other shoulder and quickly flapped its wings causing a single feather to flutter down that she caught in her palms As she stared at it, a smile crossed her face and the bird pecked her cheek before it flew back over to the top of the tombstone and cocked its head in the same manner as before. With that her smile brightened.

As she cupped the feather in her hand, taking that as her sign, she was about to turn around when a silver almost ghost like fox slinked out from behind a tree and stealthily made its way over to them behind the tombstone, peaking its head around it to look at her. The animal hesitated for a moment but when it felt safe it came from around the tombstone and sat on its haunches, his eyes never leaving hers. It too tilted its head once before returning straight and then dropping his head once as if to bow at her. The whole time his eyes, which were blue as the ocean, never left hers.

"well hello to you too." She said as she curtsied in reply.

The fox did nothing, just continued to stare and tucked his ears to the side and then to the front again. "What, got nothing to say?" she sassed at him as she placed her hands on her hips, chuckling at her own little joke. "Cat got your tongue? Or should I say bird?" She was officially losing it, she thought to herself.

Then as if the bird was jealous, it chirped loudly at the fox , who glanced over at it and did nothing in retaliation. The fox just looked up then at her and almost seemed to smile before it bowed one more time and trotted away as the bird followed.

Regina watched in awe as the fox and bird retreated towards the forest before she glanced down at the feather once more and smiled. When she looked back up, she expected to see the animals retreating but was surprised to see nothing there. Was she halluicinating? She really needed a drink. But first, she would have to stop at Gold's because there were adoption papers to draw up. He was still a lawyer in this place after all. With a smile, she placed the feather in her pocket and turned to make her way to the car.

 **A little while later, at Granny's…**

Rob sat in one of the booths while sipping a coffee and reading the sorry excuse of the town paper, the Storybrooke Mirror. As he was folding up the paper and went to take a sip of his coffee, the crack of a cane on the floor got his attention, causing him to look up and see Gold in front of him.

"Hello Thief." He said not so subtly. "Haven't heard from you in awhile."

"Shut up Gold. People could hear you." Rob muttered through his teeth.

Gold went to sit down across from him, leaning his cane against the outside of the booth. "Wouldn't want that now, would we? Especially a certain Queen finding out you've been lying to her… All. This. Time."

"You wouldn't. We have a deal." Rob shot back at him.

"Yes. We do. One that you haven't made all that much progress on." Gold said in a threatening tone.

"I need time, Gold. It can't just happen over night."

Gold didn't reply, he just stared at Rob for a few moments before replying. "Tell me Robert, we both know what are on those pages of yours but what was the driving force that lead to your dark path?"

Rob glowered at him before answering, knowing he couldn't avoid this question. The Dark One never left until he got what he wanted " self-loathing. Revenge."

Gold eyed him before propelling him forward. "And?"

Rob flicked his eyes down and then up again with a sigh. "Anger." He answered with a deep throatiness in his voice.

Gold stood up and leaned over the table to get right into Rob's face. "Tell me, thief, doesn't it just make you burn knowing that it was originally Regina who killed your precious Marian." Rob eyed him as he continued. "How could you so easily forgive her?"

Madness appeared behind Rob's iris' as he launched forward and grabbed gold by the collar. "Don't you dare try to turn me against her. It won't work. What happened to Marian was my fault and Zelena's. She's been absolved and she's not that person anymore. I'm not that person anymore."

Gold just snickered. "Oh the Evil Queen, her darkness, will always be apart of who she is, just like the darkness has always festered within you. Your time is running out for our deal—"

"What if I don't want this deal. What if I won't—can't do it?" he spat back at Gold.

If you can't do it well then I'll let all of these retched citizens, your friends, your men, your children, and your precious queen know exactly the fraud you are. Would hate to see the disappointment in your Queen's eyes when she finds out the honorable thief isn't so honorable after all. That you have been lying to EVERYONE since the beginning. That it's all a giant farce." He smiled maniacally at Rob. "Tick… tock… Dearie." He punctuated his words by poking him in the center of his chest each time.

Upon his words, Rob then threw him by the collar out of the booth, not wanting to deal with him any longer. Going to the dark one for help may have been a mistake but at this point he had no other choice. After he watched Gold leave, he hung his head back and rubbed his palms against his face as he took a deep breath.

"That looked intense." A feminine chirpy voice said a few moments later causing him to jump up. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you but do you mind if I join you a moment?"

"Sure." He said as he watched Snow take a seat on the other side of the booth. So much for a relaxing coffee and read of the paper, he thought to himself. "I'd be careful with Gold by the way. He makes a superlative enemy."

"Tell me something I don't know, Princess. Why do I get the feeling you didn't come over here to warn me about a thing I'm already very aware of?" He questioned as he leaned back against the booth, waiting for an answer.

Snow nodded as she swiped non existence crumbs off the table. "You are correct." She answered and looked up at him as she asked her question a little nervously. "How's Regina? We havn't seen a lot of her lately."

"As good as she could be doing considering she just lost yet someone else she loves." He looked out the window before he looked back and continued. "But tell me why don't you ask her yourself?" He threw back at her with annoyance in his voice.

"I've tried. Emma has tried. We invite her out. You spend so much time with eachother. We're worried about her"

Rob nodded a little before he asked her, knowing this may open a can of worms or bring the princess down to reality. "Regina cares about you Charmings…a lot. But tell me what exactly are you inviting out to do?"

"We invite her over for family dinners, David and I will invite her out to dinner with us, and Emma said she even invited her to dinner with her and hook." Snow answered his question honestly, wondering what he was getting at.

"uh huh." Is all he said in return, trying to give her a knowing look. "You want to reiterate that and really think about what you just said."

"We invite her to family dinners, I invite her to have dinner with me and charming, and Emma invites her to dinner with…" Snow trailed off as it hit her what Rob was trying to point out. "Oh my god." Snow said covering her face with her palms in embarrassment.

Rob sat forward in the booth, hands clasped together on the table. "Yeah." He said as if she should have known all along. "I didn't quite think you charmings were this obtuse but basically you've been inviting her to play 3rd or 5th wheel on a double date when she just lost her true love or to a little family gathering when she lost the one she never got a chance to have."

"Is that why you've been so gruff with us?" snow asked what would be a rhetorical question. Looking up, Rob didn't say a word just sat there with a look that answered everything.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. It wasn't all you." He tapped his fingers against the table as he tried to comfort her. "Being around you guys in general was hard for her. Looking at you guys—"

"Just reminded her of everything she lost." Snow cut him off.

"Yup." He nodded in response. "Sometimes she just needed to forget her pain."

"And that's where you came in?" she asked

"Sort of. When we would hang out I just wanted her to forget her pain, even if it was for five minutes. Or if she needed it, a friendly ear. I think it helped that I had no connection to Robin or memories associated with him." If they all only knew that was a giant lie? God he needed a way out of this mess and back to his real self. In the end, everyone was probably going to hate him, especially Regina.

"I'm glad you've been around then." Snow said sincerely, only wanting Regina to find some sort of happiness.

"Me too." Rob gave a tight smile to Snow.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Rob answered.

"Do you think there's anything we could do?" Snow inquired to Rob wholeheartedly.

"I've heard that a girls night out is quite popular in this realm." Rob suggested.

"That's a perfect idea!" Snow squealed excitedly. "Why didn't I think of that before? I'll talk to Emma about it right away. Thank you." Snow reached out and cupped his hands.

"No problem." He said with a raise of his brows. Honestly, he is surprised that he needed to prompt this in order to make it happen. It seems the Charmings could be that obtuse.

"I'll see you around." She paused of getting out the booth a moment. "It's good to know someone else has Regina's back."

"She's become somewhat of my best friend. I wouldn't let anything happen to her." _Some best friend you are, lying to her this whole time,_ he thought to himself.

"Good." Snow said before she stepped out of the booth and Rob watched as she made her way out of the diner but not before she turned to say something else to him. "Oh!" she chirped as she made her way back to his booth. "David and I thought it would be a great idea to have a ball in a couple of weeks. Celebrate everything being normal for awhile. We were hoping you and Regina would come?"

"I'll ask her. But I can't promise anything." He replied back, knowing balls weren't Regina's favorite thing. Remembering that robin, no he himself really, almost died at the last one and feeling like a trophy at the others.

"right." He snickered a little. "Thank you though." She said before she turned on her heels and made her way out of the diner. Rob just chuckled and shook his head as she left.

 **Saturday Morning…**

Regina, Roland, and Henry were all sitting around the kitchen table munching on the omelets and toast she had made her boys. The first week with Roland had gone by quickly. Much of it had been spent making Roland feel at home. Clothes, Toys, and other items for his bedroom were bought throughout the week. She was even happy to take time off from the office in order to get him settled in.

After she had the trippy experience at the graveyard, she went over to Gold's shop and had asked if he would help making Roland's adoption a reality. Surprisingly, he had agreed and done so without making a deal, which shocked Regina. Gold went on to explain that he didn't want to see another child grow up without a parent and had seemed sincere about it too. So the beginnings of Roland's adoption were put into place.

Now they sat around the table munching their eggy goodness while Roland told one of his animated stories from the time he had spent with the merry men. Just as he was about to finish his story, the ring of her cell phone echoed from the foyer. She would throw a fireball at whomever was interrupting their time together. Excusing herself, she told them to keep eating while she padded through the kitchen and to the foyer in order to answer the phone. As she picked it up, she snickered once she saw who it was and pressed the answer button. "You're lucky its you on the phone because I was considering throwing a fireball at whomever decided to interrupt my relaxing breakfast with Henry and Roland.

"You wound me, Your Majesty." Rob responded back to her. "And you wouldn't dare."

"Try me." She threatened him.

"I'll make sure to come with one of those water snake things this world has." He retorts back.

"It's called a HOSE." She laughs at his ignorance of this world. "Anyway. I know why you're probably calling and whatever you had planned for today probably has to be canceled. Roland and Henry are both with me this weekend. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to call and let you know. This week has been busy with getting Roland settled."

"Not to worry. I figured Roland would be around and made adjustments accordingly for something the little lad could do as well. But I thought Henry was usually with Ms. Swan on Saturdays?" he questioned.

"Usually…Yes. But it seems Emma and Hook had decided to take a "private" sailing trip together." She rolled her eyes as she put air quotes and emphasis around the word private. "Or whatever."

"Yes, I'm sure we all know what private refers too. Sometimes Emma thinks everyone is oblivious…Anywho, I think Henry would enjoy what I have planned too. If you three are game?"

"What exactly do you have planned?" she asked to which Rob just sniggered over the line. "Let me guess?" she rolled her eyes again. " You can't tell me?"

"You're getting good at this." Rob complimented her.

"Should I even try and convince you to tell me?"

"Nope." He continued to chuckle as he put emphasis on the p.

"Is it safe for my children?" she asked, catching herself at _my children_ realizing it came out naturally. This week it already felt that way and in a few it would be legal.

"I would never do anything to endanger Henry and Roland. It's perfectly kid friendly. Roland will love it. It's probably something more in his age range, but Henry may like it and will tolerate it for Roland."

"Yeah." She smiled as she leaned against the doorway to the dining room and watched as the two boys talked between each other animatedly; however, Henry sensed she was watching and looked up at her with a smile. If there's one thing she got right in this world, it was him and she would do the same thing for Roland. As she watched these two interact, she knew she was making the right decision. "It's like they were always meant to be brothers."

So the two adults agreed they would meet outside of Granny's in a few hours and go from there. After she hung up with Rob, she went and sat down to enjoy the rest of breakfast with her sons.

 **A Few Hours Later…**

Regina, Roland, and Henry strolled down the street together to meet Rob outside of Granny's . Regina was in the middle with Roland to her right holding her hand and Henry was to her left while she had his arm slung over his shoulders. As the trio walked, Regina and Henry listened as Roland rambled on about, what it seems, to be absolutely nothing. They rounded the corner and saw Rob waiting for them outside.

When he saw them from his peripheral vision, he turned to watch and couldn't help but smile at the scene as they made their way towards him. How he wished he could have been walking right next to them. Hopefully soon he will be. Just as they were arriving, he met them by the fence that boarded Granny's. "So you guys ready to have some fun?" He asked them.

"That depends upon your definition of fun?" Henry retorted back to him.

"Touché." He chuckled at Henry. "I promise we will do something more your speed another day, alright?"

"Fair enough." Henry replied back.

"So what are we doing?" Regina asked him.

"Yeah, Mr. Rob. What are we doing?" Roland asked as swung Regina's hand back and forth.

"Come on, follow me." He directed them ahead with a wave of his hand and the four of them walked together, with Rob leading a few steps ahead, for a couple of blocks. They halted at a storefront with colorful paintings in the window and bright letters reading above "Anastasia's Artistry and Craft."

"Arts and Crafts?" Regina inquired with a raise of her brow as she looked over towards Rob.

"I said it was more Roland's speed but she also totes that it's for kids AND adults." He defended himself to her.

"I guess we shall see about that. You boys want to do this?" she ran her fingers through Roland's long curls, thinking that he would need a hair cut soon.

"I like to paint, Gina!" Roland exclaimed excitedly as he looked up at her and swung her hand.

"What about you?" She turned and asked Henry.

"I don't mind doing this for a bit. I used to like to play with clay when I was younger." He stated as he smiled at her, referencing to the mold of his hand he had made for her when he was little. "Besides, Roland seems excited."

Regina nodded at him and squeezed Roland's hand before she looked towards Rob. "OK Outlaw. We're game."

"Ok clan. Lets make some art." He held open the door and let them go before him before he followed them in.

"Wow." Regina looked around the place in wonder after they had entered. To her left, there were chairs with easels in front of them for people who wanted to paint. Straight in front of her, there were several pottery wheels with chairs and set up. Then next to those were tables with different type of charcoals for sketching. Finally to the left, there was a station set up for what appeared to be a sort of make your own jewelry. "They have every sort of art here."

"Indeed we do." Chirped the red head with long flowing hair, trim figure, and what appeared to be a slight Russian accent. "Welcome to Anastasia's arts and crafts." The group watched as Ana walked around the front desk to meet with them and stuck out her hand for a handshake. "I'm Anastasia—Anastasia Rominov."

"THE Anastasia Romanov, as in the Duchess of Russia?" Henry said excitedly as he took her hand first. "Awesome!"

"That's me and I own this place with my husband Dimitri." She said as she shook Henry, Rob, and Regina's hands. When she got to Roland she crouched down to his height. "And who are you?" Anastasia asked him in her sing song voice.

"I'm Roland." He said a little shy as he held on to Regina's legs.

"I like that name." she said genuinely. "How old are you, Roland."

"I'm this many." He said as he held up five fingers tentatively.

"Such a big boy." She exclaimed as she smiled at him. "Do you like art Roland?"

"I do." He answered her as he leaned more into Regina as she ran her fingers through his curls. "I like to make figurines and paint."

"Then I would say molding clay is an excellent place for you to begin. That is if your Mom says its ok." Anastasia looked up at Regina for confirmation and her heart warmed a little at the term, even if the woman was doing it just to be polite. Soon enough, she would be his mother legally and she already felt like one to him.

"I think Roland would like that very much, wouldn't you, Roland?" Regina glanced down at him with a knowing smile. Roland shook his head excitedly in conformation.

"Come on Ro." Henry said as he took his hand and guided him to the middle of the room where the clay was set up. "Lets go get messy with some clay." Henry turned and winked at his mother.

"Not too messy!" she scolded as she watched her boys sit down and began to take directions from Anastasia who had followed them.

"Come on." Rob said to her after the boys began to get settled in. "lets go sit over at these tables."

Regina followed him and the sat down next to each other at the jewelry station.

"So…" Rob started off.

"Yeah?" Regina queried with a raise of her brows."

"Did Snow tell you?" Rob asked as he sat back in his chair, knowing Regina was going to love to learn of the Ball Snow had planned.

"Tell me what?"

"I'm surprised, as she can't seem to hold in her excitement at the ball she has planned in a couple of weeks?"

"Ball!" Regina exclaimed a little too loudly in startlement. "Leave it up to her to want throw a ball." She scoffed in annoyance. Really she shouldn't be that amazed, this is snow they were talking about. She rolled her eyes at the thought of going.

"She really wants you to go."

"Well what If I don't want to go? I hate these things!" She folded her arms in front of her and stomped her foot down like a petulant child.

"Why exactly is that?" Rob leaned against the table and turned towards her more to gain her attention.

"They're just so Royal and pompous. The dresses and the extravagance of the food are just ridiculous. It's all a big game for men to just parade their woman around like trophies."

"Let me guess." He leaned a little further into her so he could whisper. "You're old not so considerate tosser of former husband used to do this?"

She shivered a little everytime someone called that man her husband because he definitely was not a prime example of what one was supposed to be. "Yes." She whispered so quietly he could almost not hear her answer.

He nodded his hand in understanding. "Yeah…definite tosser but why do I get the feeling that isn't the whole reason you don't want to go?"

There he goes again, reading her like an open book. How did he do that? Taking a deep breath, she answered him. "I never had anyone to dance with." She began as she nervously rubbed her palms against her pants. "The king always gave his attention to his precious daughter…Not that I really wanted his attention to begin with but, while we were in Camelot, there was a ball, Robin was there, and we danced and—"

"It was perfect." He completed for her with a grin, knowing he felt the same way in that moment as well.

Pausing a moment, she gave him an inquisical look before nodding her head. "Yes…well..if you take the part out where a knight tried to stab me and Robin had to be heroic and step in front of me. Always getting in the way." She sniffled back the tears that threatened to develop at that statement because she warned him from the very beginning not to her in her way. Why didn't he listen?

"It seems to me he was protecting something, or someone, very sacred to him. Someone who he thought was worth dying in order to protect." As he said this, he gazed deep into her eyes before she glanced away.

"I'm not wor—"

"I think there are many who would argue against that, including Robin." He cut her off as he took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "How about this?"

"What?" she asked as she exhaled a breath she was holding.

"How about we go together. We get all fancied up, eat the extravagant food, and dance badly together? Laugh at the ridiculousness of it all?"

She sniggered at the last part. "I need a dress."

"Then we will get you a dress." He stated simply.

"And I don't want to look like a fool while everyone waltz's around gracefully." She gestured her hand in a figure eight for emphasis on waltzing.

"That's what the wonders of something this world calls you tube is for." He countered back. "We can learn together."

"You're going to have to get rid of the leather jacket and dress nice. Maybe even make a trip to see Sweeney to trim that thing you call a goatee."

"Done and they don't make dress robes in leather?" He asked with cheek to which she rolled her eyes.

"No. You have to wear something called a tux in this world."

"Done. Now will you go?" he asked with some exacerbation in his voice, why must this woman be so difficult? But oh did he love her for it.

"Fine. I'll go but only because I will never hear the end of It from snow if I don't."

"Good." He nodded. "Then we will fetch you a dress some evening this week."

"Fine." She said back.

"ok." he said as he looked at the different containers of beads and charms in the middle of the table. "What do you suppose people make with these?" He questioned holding up a charm that said "BFF."

"Looks like people would make some kind of jewelry with it, being it bracelets, necklaces, and earrings." Regina offered an answer to him.

"Bracelets are the most common." Anastasia came up behind them as she answered, causing both of them to jump and turn to look at the smiling woman. "Friendship bracelets to be exact."

"Friendship bracelets?" Rob asked with a confused raise of his brow.

"People usually take that clear stretchy wire there, add beads and charms that they think the other person would like, and then exchange. Why don't you too give it a shot while the boys continue with the clay? They're buy one get one free today."

With a shrug of her shoulders, Regina glanced over to Rob. "Sure, why not?"

"Why not?" Rob echoed back. "What color beading would you like your majesty?" He asked as he glanced around at the array of rainbow colors in each container.

"She said we are supposed to make them of what we think the other would like. Take a guess." She challenged him with smirk. "Or do you not know we that well yet, Outlaw? Here's a hint, Don't choose a wicked witch green."

Rob choked out a laugh, knowing she was referring to her sister. He would indeed not choose a color like that for her. "I look forward to what you make for me, your majesty."

"Easy." She said as she picked a silver motorcycle bead and thread it through the string. "I'll just put these little motorcycles on it."

"That's breaking the rules, you have to use different ones and the colored ones." He argued against her tactics.

"Do you always have to be so difficult?" she countered back.

"Well maybe you should be more creative, your majesty."

"I'll show you creative." She taunted back as she took a handful of forest green beads and began to thread them. For some reason, it seemed this color suited him and she had no idea why. Then she took a couple of the different silver beads with designs on them that Rob could not make out and alternated them after some green ones.

For awhile, the two continued to work in contented silence before Regina spoke breaking it. "So there's something I wanted to ask you." A little nervousness was behind her voice as she said this. Not knowing what he would think or what he would say.

"Shoot." Rob urged her on as he looked up from threading purple beads.

"Have you found a job yet?"

With an amused chuckle, rob responded. "Unfortunately not. Not many people want to hire a common criminal. Although Granny gives me some work around the diner and B&B to pay for my housing."

"Well..." she hesitated a little before she stopped what she was doing and looked up at him. "How would you feel about watching Roland during the day while I am at work and then after school for a few hours when summer break is over?"

"You want me to be the ' nanny?" he asked, a little surprised.

"Sort of. I guess?" she snickered at the term. "Roland likes you and you're good with him. It pays pretty well and maybe comes with the bonus of dinner every once in awhile. And…well…you're one of the only people I trust who is available to do it. I interviewed some people and they're all morons."

"I'll take that as a complement." He laughed a little in response. "Mary Poppins was already taken?"

"You know, I am surprised she hasn't shown up by now." Regina commented as the two laughed together. "What do you say?" she asked hopeful that he would accept. Roland seemed to take to him and she wouldn't trust just anybody with her youngest. It seemed unfair to ask Henry to watch him everyday during the summer and she had the finances to pay someone. As always, for some reason, she trusted him.

"I'd say for the first time, in a long time, I have a legitimate job." He smiled at her before continuing. "Thank you, Regina. I promise your little lad will be safe in my charge."

"Good…Because if anything happens to him under your watch, it will be your head." For some reason, she felt she could trust that he would never let anything to happen to Roland.

"I am certain you mean those words."

Glad that he took the job, she glanced back down and continued on her bracelet as Rob did the same. A little while later, she put the finishing touches on his bracelet and announced that she was done. Shortly after Rob was finished and Anastasia came over and showed them how to fasten the two ends together so they would not rip apart.

"Ok, ladies first." Rob said as he held out his hand. "May I have your hand?"

Raising her hand, she settled it in his palm and extended her fingers so he could slide the bracelet on. For whatever reason, she felt a warmth run through her at the contact and looked up at him to see the warmest blue eyes. Blue eyes that felt oh some familiar.

"So, tell me what do you think? Do I know you pretty well?" He inquired and she looked down to see mostly purple beads alternating with a few different silver ones, the silver ones being a horse, an apple, a crown, and one inscribed with the word mother in cursive. In the middle of those, was one that said "BFF." As she wrapped her hand around her wrist and ran her thumb over it, she couldn't help but smile and think that yes, he seemed to know her pretty well. The smile continued as she looked up at him. "I'd say you know me pretty well…for an outlaw. She deadpanned.

Looking down and then back up, he chuckled as he held up his hand for her. "Lets see how well you know me." He baited her as he held up his hand.

With a cheeky smirk, she slide the bracelet over his hand and snapped it around his wrist. His was mostly forest green beads with a few silver alternating in between as well. It seemed their minds thought a like. He too had a BFF bead in the middle with the others being a bow and arrow, motorcycle, A hand with an open palm, and a pine tree. "What's with the hand?"

The right side of her lip upturned before she explained. "Well…you are a thief and outlaw."

"Nice." He laughed as he looked at the bracelet before looking up at her before a serious expression crossed his face.

"What?" she asked as she noticed the change in expression.

Before he answered her, he took her hand that had the bracelet wrapped around her wrist and gave it a squeeze. "Promise me something?"

"Ok." she said a little hesitantly over the seriousness of his tone. "Go on."

"Promise me that no matter what happens, we will remain at least friends."

"That's a little cryptic, don't you think?" she stated back with concern, not knowing where this seriousness came from or why he was asking this

"Just promise me?" he urged as he dipped his head and met her eyes. Some day the truth would be revealed about who he really is, whether it was on his terms or not, and he wasn't completely sure how she would react. Deep in his heart, he knew she understood the darkness and would accept his past but the other part thought she would be disappointed to know he wasn't always the honorable man she knew and had been lying to her this whole time.

"ok. I promise that we will always be friends but where is this coming from?"

"Good and it's just you never know what may happen in this world. You have come into my life and I couldn't be more greatful. I don't want lose that." He smiled and exhaled the breath he was holding as he let her hand go.

Her heart warmed at those words. There have been very few people in her life who cared whether she was around or not. Before getting up, she nodded her head with a smile and then went to stand. "I'm going to go check on the boys."

Rob watched as she made her way over to the boys who were working on their clay projects. As he watched the three together, he wanted so badly for all of this to be over and everything to be as it once was and never had the chance to be.

Peering over Roland's shoulder, she tried to get a peek at what he was working on. "What are you making Roland?"

"NO GINA!" Shooting up out of his chair, he leaned over, wrapped his arms around his project, and covered it with his body. "It's a surprise, you can't see it yet."

"oh…and when will I be able to see it?" she inquired softly

"When I give it to you. It's a present." His tone was final. "Henry helped me to make it."

She gave a small giggle before glancing over to Henry was finshing up painting a ceramic figure. "what are you working on, Henry?"

Before answering, he dropped his paint brush back into the cup of water and looked up at his mom. "Well…I can't say I was very good on the pottery wheel. So Anastasia gave me one of these premade figurines." He explained as he held up what appeared to be clay molded into a book that had a quill and inkwell attached to its corner. Yes that suited her boy well.

"My two little artists." She complemented as she ruffled Roland's long curls. Yes she would definitely need to take him for a haircut. It seemed the merry men had forgotten to take this into consideration. That is what mother's were for after all.

Anastasia then appeared back behind Henry and examined his art work. "Good color choices. Now these will go in the kiln in a little while and you should be able to pick them up on Monday."

"Not tomorrow?" Regina questioned.

"They have to stay in the kiln for a good period of time and then cool." She explained to Regina as she took Henry's and Roland's clay projects, keeping his hidden. "We close early on Sundays, so it wont be ready until Monday.

"The little lad and I can pick them up on Monday." Rob popped up next to Regina. "Don't try and pretend you weren't attempting to take a sneak peak at Roland did for you." He teased her, knowing exactly that is what she was wanting to do.

"Am not!"

"Are too!." The two of them sounded like petulant children.

"Whatever." As usual, she rolled her eyes at how smug he could be and then turned her attention back to her sons. "Would you boys like to do anything else?"

"Roland wanted to paint." Henry answered for them. "And Anastasia said she could guide us through a pretty easy painting step by step."

"Yeah!" Roland chimed in with excitement practically bouncing in his seat. "Then can Henry and I make bracelets like you and Mr. Rob did?"

"What do you think about that Henry?" she asked, wanting to know if he was ok with doing these more little kid things.

"Yeah, why not?" Henry replied with a smile and not an inch of annoyance in his voice.

Her heart swelled at how loving and accepting her boy was. So for the next couple of hours, the group followed along as Anastasia showed them a painting step by step and Regina helped Roland make his bracelet while Rob made suggestions to Henry on his. After they were done, the three men argued that pizza would be a perfect way to wrap up this day. Regina reluctantly agreed but only if there was some sort of salad involved along with it. After all, it's not like they had pizza everyday.

Then after dinner, Rob returned to Granny's claiming she should spend some of the day alone with her two boys but not before he offered to take Henry on his motorcycle next weekend with the permission of his mother. Regina was against it at first but if Henry wore his helmet and Rob stayed in town and parking lots then she reluctantly agreed.

After they said their goodbyes, the three of them returned home to enjoy a movie together. Since Henry tolerated the arts and crafts, he got to choose the movie. As they sat on the couch with Regina in the middle and the two boys flanking each side, they shared a bowl of popcorn as they watched the adventures of the Avengers. Kissing both of their heads, she couldn't help but think this is the most content she had felt in awhile and it was almost perfect. Almost. Would that be her fate? To almost have everything she has always wanted?

 _So…what do you think Roland made Regina? Hint—it's something we have seen before. Any guesses? Any ideas on what Rob's deal with Rumple is? Or what his past may be? The reveal is soon! One more chapter until everything is unveiled. Thanks to those whom have continued with the story!_

 _Next Chapter: Dancing Queen_


	14. Chapter 14: Dancing Queen

AN: Sorry for the Delay. Work has been hectic but things are winding down to normal now. Also had a little writer's block with this chapter because I am so looking forward to writing the next! How about a 10,000 word chapter to make up for it? Thanks to those who have stuck with me, favorite/followed, and reviewed.

Chapter 14: Dancing Queen

 _I know I could lie but I'm telling the truth  
Wherever I go there's a shadow of you  
I know I could try looking for something new  
But wherever I go, I'll be looking for you_

 _Some people lie but they're looking for magic  
Others are quietly going insane  
I feel alive when I'm close to the madness  
No easy love could ever make me feel the same  
OneRepublic—Where ever I go_

It was a hot Wednesday August morning and Regina found herself even dreading the thought of going outside of the air conditioned to even make it to work. But she had two children to take care so she knew she had no other choice but to get out of bed. Padding her way through the hallway and then down the stairs, she stopped in the doorway of the kitchen and saw her two boys sharing breakfast together as Henry was pouring Roland a bowl of cereal. Without them, she didn't know where she would be. "Good morning you two." She greeted as she made her way over to them and kissed them both on the top of their heads.

"Morning." Both boys chirped as they shoveled a spoonful of sugary cereal into their mouths.

"Don't talk with your mouth's full." She corrected them as she went over to start a pot of coffee. "What do you have planned today, Henry?"

Henry looked up from one of the volumes of the storybook he was paging through before he answered her with an impish grin. "Well…it seems today I am hanging out with Roland."

Surprised, Regina quickly turned around wondering why Rob wouldn't be coming today? He had been watching Roland the past week and a half as she went to back to work and things had been working out well. She hoped he didn't change his mind. "What do you mean? Is Rob alright? He isn't changing his mind is he? Roland seems to really like him, don't you sweetie?" The questions firerocketed off her tongue and she didn't take a breath in between.

"Yeah! I like Mr. Rob. He plays fun games with me." Roland exclaimed after he swallowed down his bite of cereal.

"Whoa whoa whoa,!" Henry jumped in holding his hands up. "It's nothing like that. Rob told me to relay the message to you that he had something planned today. Something about the ball next week and getting ready for it?"

As she poured her coffee, she quirked an eyebrow at him. "Did he say what? And when did he tell you this?"

"No." Henry simply stated without explaining any further."And it was after he took me on his bike last weekend." As promised, Rob had taken Henry on his motorcycle at the discretion of his mother that he wear a helmet and stay on side roads or in parking lots. Needless to say, Henry and Rob himself had a grand time.

As she stopped pouring her coffee, Regina dropped her shoulders in defeat. Here we go again, she thought. "Did he say where?"

"Town Hall." Henry answered, not looking up this time from flipping through his book.

"What time? And does he know he won't get paid for today then?" she pointed out to Henry.

"Sometime this afternoon—he said he would text you. I think he knows that." He acknowledged her questions but didn't look up from his book as he halted the flipping of the pages when a frown crossed his face.

As always, Regina noticed when one of her boys were upset and leaned across the kitchen island to peer at the book. "what's wrong? Everything alright?"

"Look…" Henry pointed out to his mother the jagged edge of what looked like someone had ripped out pages from the book. His finger skimmed down the edge.

"Someone was naughty and ripped out the pages." Roland said before he sipped his juice and put his glass back down. "Daddy told me never to do that with books."

Looking up at Roland when he said Daddy, Regina smiled before reaching out squeezing his hand a moment before letting go. "Looks like someone was indeed naughty." Agreeing with Roland, she too ran her finger down the jagged edge.

"I wonder whose story it is and who ripped it out?" Henry questioned in genuine curiosity. "Was it the person's whose story it was or someone else? And why didn't they want us to find it?"

"I don't know." Regina replied back, not sure what to say to him. "Any stories before it or after that could give us a clue at least whose it about? Maybe they tore it out In the middle of a story?"

Henry quickly rifled back and forth between the pages. "No. Doesn't seem that way. The page before it says the end and the pages after begins a new story."

"Where was this book before and has it always been with you?" Regina inquired trying to help her son.

With a shake of his head, Henry answered her but was starting to clearly get irritated when he finally looked up at her. "I found it in the sorcerer's mansion when all the people from the land of untold stories came here. I took a few with me but not all of them. This is one of the others I went back for so it was there for awhile and we don't exactly lock the mansion anymore. Anyone could have gotten a hold of this and torn out the pages. But I think the biggest concern is—"

"Who doesn't want us to know their backstory?" she cut Henry off and looked over at Roland who was happily munching at his banana slices that she had cut up for him, somewhat oblivious to their conversation.

"This could have been anyone who found the mansion or knew about the library." Henry furrowed his brow before he continued. "Maybe I'll go take a look around eventually. See if anyone left anything behind."

"Ok." Regina reached out and squeezed his hand. "Just be careful and, if you want, Emma or I can go with you."

Squeezing her hand, he got up, and then said before he left, "I got this. I'll be careful. I'm going to go upstairs and flip through the other books I brought to see if any other pages are missing."

With that, Henry shuffled out of the kitchen and up the stairs to his room. After she watched him go, she moved around the island, stood next to Roland, stroked her hair through rolands curls as she glanced down at the book. When she looked down, she glanced back and forth between the pages and that when she noticed which page was missing and her heart dropped into her stomach. Page 23 was missing.

But could it be the same page that was revealed to her-to robin? It was a clean cut page and wouldn't match up to the jaggedness that was still bound into the page. What or whose story was torn out of the book?

 **A few hours later at town hall…**

Regina arrived and she quickly marched into the meeting room, wondering what Rob was up to this time. After she opened the door, her ears were assaulted with a classical waltz music and she saw Rob stumbling around the room, trying what looked like to be a waltz. "Careful, wouldn't want to trip over those two left feet." Regina teased him as she crossed her arms in front of her and leaned against the doorway, causing him to jump and stop what he was doing.

"It's not nice to tease, your majesty." Rob jested back, a little embarrassed.

"It's all in good fun Outlaw." Regina replied back as she put her purse down by the door and made her way over to him. "What exactly are you doing?"

Before he answered, he turned off the music but seemed to be enthralled by a video on the laptop in front of him before glancing back up at her. "If you must know, I am practicing my waltz. Since I am escorting you to this stupid ball of Snow's I very well can't be a bouncing baboon on the dance floor."

Snickering a little, she sat down on the table, leaning once leg against it. She wouldn't let her friend drown a lone or suffer and it was sweet he was trying to learn for her. "That's very admirable, but you've seen me dance before and I'm not the best. Definitely not up to queenly standards, as my mother would say."

"How is that?" he asked with curiosity. "Especially if your mother was so keen on you being Queen? It seems like it would be part of the job."

Shrugging her shoulders, she focused on the ring she twirled on her right finger before looking up at him, flicking her hair away from her face. "I don't know really. It never seemed a priority for her. When I was younger, I always dreamed of the day I would have someone to dance with, whether it would be a sister, friend, or in romance. I would even dance around the room with my doll Isabella. But my mother never made it a priority to teach me and then she…" Stopping a moment, she collected herself before she continued and took a deep breath. "Married me off to the king and he always preferred to dance with his precious daughter than me. Not that I had much interest in dancing with him to begin with. Before I was married off, there was Daniel but with the sneaking around it's not like we went to a ball together. So I never really had the chance until—"

"Robin came along." Rob finished the sentence for her, knowing exactly how she was going to finish her little tale.

"Yeah." She said with a forlorn look on her face as she tucked her hair behind her ears. "And then he was just gone."

"Well…" he started as he got up from his chair and offered her his hand. "I could never take his place, but I would sure learn a lot better with someone else. I figured we could practice together. I'd rather not look like an ape. Please."

With a roll of her eyes, she smiled and took his offered hand. "Just don't make my toes your dance floor."

"I'll do my best, your majesty. As long as you do the same." He chided back before he started the music again and then lead her out to the middle of the dance floor, taking her hand in his and wrapping his arm around her waist as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Lets see what you can do and we'll learn…together?"

She nodded her head in agreement and then carefully, he stepped off and led them in the beginning of a basic waltz. For awhile they fumbled through the steps and laughed as they did so. When they got frustrated, they used instructional videos on YouTube to see what they doing wrong. Eventually they got into a rhythm and gracefully glided around the dance floor together. As their lithe continued without incident this time, Regina's face lit up in triumph with that elusive smile he loved so much and he couldn't take his eyes off of her. His concentration on the dance wavered and he stumbled over his own two feet before landing on his backside.

Unable to control herself, Regina doubled over in laughter at his folly, somehow making her smile even brighter that it would have beamed light throughout a dark room. As he stayed situated on the ground, elbows leaning against his bent knees, he chuckled along with her as he watched her glee and wiping away tears from laughing too hard. If anyone deserved to laugh so hard their stomach hurts and they had to wipe away joyous tears, it was her.

After a few hours of dance rehearsal, they felt prepared enough for this ridiculous ball and decided to call it quits; However, Rob had something else up his sleeve. As promised, he was going to take her shopping for a dress for this occasion. Without argument, Regina agreed and told Rob she didn't need any practice with this part. So they ended up at a new dress shop owned by someone who also came from the land of untold stories. Of course, Rob seemed to know the owner well.

Her name was Thumbelina, who was a pixie of a woman, standing probably even less than 5 feet tall but what she lacked in height, she made up in personality. Kind, energetic, and honest were just some of her attributes. When they arrived at the store, Thumbelina immediately took Regina around the store and they picked out several different dresses of different styles for her to try on. Thumbelina gushed over her and said with her killer body any of these dresses are going to look fabulous.

With dresses stacked on her arm, Thumbelina took her back to the dressing room with Rob in tow who sat down in one of the chairs outside the dressing room, waiting to see the different options. One by one, Regina trotted out in different selections but with each one there just wasn't something right with it, whether it was too puffy, too sparkly, or she didn't like another certain detail.

Eventually, Regina could tell Rob was getting bored out of his mind and decided to have some fun with it. The next dress, she stepped out in an 80's theme dress with big sleeves and all, that got both Thumbelina and Rob cracking up. For the next couple of dresses, regina waltzed out in some of the most disastrous dresses Thumbelina could find. They were so bad, whether it was the cut, style, or color, that even Thumbelina was questioning why she had them in the store.

When the laughter died down, Thumbelina and Regina looked around the store one more time but were disappointed that they weren't finding anything. Sheepishly, Thumbelina said she was working on a new dress that hadn't made it onto the floor yet and even though it was simple in style, it was elegant and would be perfect for her. So she went and got the dress to give to Regina to try on.

"This is perfect!" Regina exclaimed from the dressing room.

"Well, don't hold us in suspense." Thumbelina retorted back before whispering to Rob. "She's going to knock everyone's socks off. This dress was made for her."

"Ok. I'm coming out." Regina told them as the door clicked open.

What rob saw took his breath away, simple but no less elegant indeed. Regina was adorned in a simple black one shoulder, tied in a knot at the shoulder, floor length dress that clung in all the right ways. "Wow. You look great!" Rob admired as he watched her make her way over to the three way mirror.

"Ya think?" Regina questioned as she turned back and forth in the mirror as she examined herself in the dress. "Not too simple for this ball of snows?" She rolled her eyes when she said ball.

"Not at all." Thumbelina chimed in on her question. "Snow chose something more atuned with this world too and with the right accessories, it will dress it up a but more."

"We can have Sweeney do your hair and Johanna can do your make up. You'll def be the queen of this ball." Rob added in.

Regina smiled turning back to the mirror, looking at Rob in the reflection of the mirror. "Well then I guess this is the dress. Now we just have to get you a tux."

"A tux?" Rob inquired with a confused raise of his brow, not having any idea what they were talking about. "What in the bloody hell is a tux."

"You'll see." Thumbelina patted him on the shoulder. "Lets get your measurements and I'll hook you up too handsome.

A little while later, Regina and Rob left the shop with a smile and wave of thanks for help with picking out the dress and tux. Realizing they missed lunch and they were starving, the two called Henry and he had agreed to bring Roland over to Granny's for an earlier dinner. As they walked down the street together, Regina looked over and couldn't help to think how glad she was to have Rob around but she would never tell him that.

 **The night of the ball…**

Saturday had come quicker that anyone anticipated and the whole town was a light in excitement for the ball. Well, most of the town. Regina was getting frustrated as she chased Roland around trying to get him into his suit without ruining her hair and make up she just had done in the process. "Roland of Locksley you stop right this instant and get dressed." She bellowed across the hallway at him.

Roland instantly stopped and turned around trying to give her his best pout. "I'm sorry R'gina. I thought we were having fun."

Making her way to him, she smiled and crouched down to his level. "I told you several times we have to get you dressed for the party tonight. That does not mean play time. Besides we are going to have a lot of fun tonight and don't you want to look handsome in your little suit?"

"Balls are usually boring for little kids." Roland lamented back to her.

"Well have you ever been to a ball with me?" Regina asked back to him.

"Yeah…the one in the 'chanted forest with you and papa. But papa won't be here this time."

And there it was, the real reason why he didn't want to go tonight. It broke her heart for her little boy and there was no way fix that but there was a few promises she could make. "Well I really want you to go. I need my dance partner after all." That seemed to get him to perk up a little bit. "And there will be lots of sweets there and I know Snow made sure to have lots of sweet rolls—your favorite!" That really seemed to perk him up as it was both his and father's favorite.

"OK!" Roland said with enthusiasm. "Can you help me get dressed now?"

"Of course." She snickered at his excitement now. Kids really were resilient.

About an hour later, both Henry and Roland were dressed and they answered the door when Rob had arrived, who cleaned up well in his classic black tux. "So tell me boys, who wants to take bets how long It takes for your mother to get down here?"

"I heard that!" retorted Regina who had made her way down the stair case and stood on the landing, waiting for Rob to notice her stern look. After rob turned and saw her, he looked gob smacked as he wordlessly stared at her. She wore her dress accented with perfect gold, diamond earrings and matching bracelet. Her hair was sleek with volume and gently curled in at the ends with makeup that included a smokey eye and red lips. Black peep toe pumps peaked out from the length of her dress.

"You look fantastic!" Rob immediately jumped from his stupor and complemented her as she descended the staircase and stood in front of him

Before she answered back, she brushed off some lint and smoothed down the lapels of his jacket. "You clean up pretty nicely for an outlaw."

Rob just snickered to her sass as Regina peered around him and complimented her boys on how handsome they both looked. Both of them presented her with a rose which she took with a smile as she sniffed them.

"Well." Rob clapped his hands together to get their attention. "Lets get this show on the road. Shall we, your majesty." He offered his arm to her which she took his and then henrys as Roland scampered along in front of them.

When they arrived at town hall, the party was in full swing with happy chatter, music blaring, people eating and dancing, and amused laughter.

"Mom…is it ok if I go find Violet?" Henry asked a little hesitantly as he didn't want to upset her.

"Of course!" Regina answered before she hugged him quickly. "You don't have to stay around with old mom. Go have fun with your friends."

"Thanks!" he kissed her on the cheek before scurried off to his group of friends on the other side of the hall.

"Gina?" Roland tugged on her dress in order to get her attention, to which she looked down at him. "Can I have sweet rolls now?"

"How about we have some dinner and then you can have some sweet rolls?"

Begrudged, Roland agreed but then offered his arm like Rob had earlier and they waltzed into the ball, all three of them. Together, they found a table and for the next hour the three of them enjoyed a scrumptious dinner and then drowned themselves in sweet rolls. Eventually Regina excused herself to the bathroom and Rob agreed to stay with Roland who was sucking sugary goodness off his fingers with Glee.

"Oh god he's going to be jumping off the walls all night." She pointed out as he popped a finger out of his mouth and gave her a toothy grin. How could she say no to this child? With her own smile in return, she kissed his head and then made her way to the ladies room.

On her way out of the bathroom, as she was walking and looking down to adjust her dress, she bumped into someone.

"Oh I'm sorry." They said before Regina looked up and realized it was Snow. "Regina! I'm so glad you came."

"Yeah well, I had two boys and one annoying outlaw who dragged me here and watch where you're going next time." She hissed at Snow.

"I said I was sorry but I'm glad you came. So you didn't come alone?" Snow asked a little sheepishly.

"Yes I guess you can say Rob and I came together—just as friends. He thought it would be fun. Whatever." Regina answered with a roll of her eyes as she looked toward him.

"Well I'm glad you came and agreed to come with Rob, even as friends and it's even better because you'll have a partner for the royal dance."

"Royal dance?" she asked with a questioning raise of her brow, suddenly nervous.

"Yeah. It's a dance just for Emma, you, charming and I." she explained to Regina. "And of course Hook is here with Emma."

"Great, Just great." Regina huffed at this information.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine. It's a simple waltz. Just like in Camelot." Snow encouraged and put both of her hands on her biceps and squeezed in comfort before she left for the bathroom, saying she better go before she has an accident. Regina couldn't help but think maybe if she did have an accident she wouldn't have to do this dance.

Well at least it was something both her and Rob practiced a lot, she thought as she watched him laughing with Roland and made her way back to the table. "Guess what?" she asked him gruffly as she sat down.

"What?" Rob looked up at her in question and noted her look of annoyance.

"It seems there's a royal dance that I have to be a part of it and by I, I mean we. So shine up those shoes and be glad we practiced."

"Well…You've got yourself a partner." He answered her with a cheeky grin, knowing exactly what he was doing.

Her eyes went wide at his words with her heart dropping in her stomach. "ok…" she barely stammered out with a whisper, taken back by the oh so familiar words. When he said things like it sent chills down her spine. He said them as if he knew she heard these words before and then he would stare into the depths of her soul with those piercing blue eyes that felt oh so familiar from the beginning. She knew those eyes that seemed to look at her with…

"Regina." Rob was shaking her shoulder a little bit now, trying to get attention.

"What!?" she snapped at him as she came out of her own thoughts.

"You were in your own little world there for a minute. Kept calling your name. It looks like we're up. They just called for the little royal dance you mentioned. You ready?"

"Guess I don't have a choice. Lets get this over with." They both got up from their chairs and rob led Regina onto to the dance floor by her hand where the other two couples were waiting. Both greeted them with a smile before rob turned and took Regina by the waist, waiting for the music to start.

"You ready?" Rob asked, concerned she was going to let her nerves get the best of her. He knew she secretly didn't want to mess up in front of everyone and make a fool of herself but who cares what these idiots thought.

"I—I don't know." She muttered back nervously to him.

"This is what we practiced for. Just do as we did there and you'll be brilliant. Just remember you've got me and I'm more likely than you to fall on my arse. Don't worry, I'll make you look good." He winked at her then.

She chuckled a little at that before she looked up at him a little more seriously. "You won't let me fall?"

"Never." He stated simply but sincerely before the music started and he lead them gracefully in the beginning of the waltz. Regina was a little tense at first, but as they went on without fault, she loosened up and let Rob guide them gracefully around the floor as if they were floating on air. When he could tell she got more comfortable, he got more fancy with twirls, spins, and dips. Now she was smiling and that's all he could ask for. Eventually the two became the center of attention and the others had conceded and watched as the two trailed around the dance floor.

"She's more graceful than she knows." Snow commented to Charming as they watched them continue around the dance floor.

"hmmm…yeah." Charming said without much effort.

"What?"Snow asked him a little perturbed.

"It's just that she spends an awfully lot of time with him lately and seems to be pushing us away." Charming answered his wife back, obviously a little perturbed.

"Yeah." Emma chimed in as she overheard the conversation between her parents. "I mean we are her family, we invite her to dinner and other events to support her, and she just pushes us away. Ignores us."

Oh my god, snow thought. Rob was right in the fact that her and her family were totally obtuse to the world and their actions sometimes.

"Like father like daughter." Snow said a little sternly with her hands on her hips.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Emma asked, a little offended.

" Let me ask you this, exactly what would you invite her to?" snow asked her daughter, trying to get her to connect the dots.

"Well hook and I would invite her to dinner or if we went to dinner, the four of us…" emma began

"Yeah or I would invite her to dinner with us or if we all went out." Charming piped in as well.

Snow looked back and forth between the two in amazement that they weren't getting it but then again, she didn't either at first. Guess they would need someone to hit her two idiots on the head. " I want you to think about what you just said very carefully."

Father and daughter looked back and forth at each other in obvious thought and then to snow who was giving them that motherly look, getting impatient that it wasn't hitting them. But then a light bulb seemed to hit them and they both paled. "Oh my god. We were inviting her to play third or fifth wheel." Emma said with shame and disappointment in her voice. "I was so excited to that hook was back I didn't think."

"Shit." Charming said.

"We were doing what we thought we needed to help her and make us feel better that we forgot what she needed. I talked with Rob and what he said made a lot of sense. When she's with him, she forgets about her pain, even if it's for five minutes but when she looked at us and saw us together, happy, we just reminded her of what she lost—again." Snow explained to them.

"damn. We suck." Emma said flatly. "How do we fix it?"

"It's the simplest thing and I don't know why we didn't think of it before because it's the most obvious answer—a girls night. What every girl needs after loss or heart break. It won't fix everything but it's a start." Snow then turned to hook and charming. "Sorry boys, you're out for this one."

They both just held their hands up, saying they will come up with something else to help support Regina. The four of them turned as they watched Rob bring up Regina from a deep dip and then bring her up to twirl her out and then back in so her back was to his front, a smile from laughter on her face.

The two continued to effortlessly glide around the dance floor, neither fumbling in their steps, and seemingly in perfect time with the chorus of violins. As the two continued to spin with their eyes locked, a warmth in Regina's stomach flared, the lights from the chandeliers and candles whipped behind them and only went faster as the music did too, causing them to spin more rapidly. It was this moment, when things are moving so quickly around them that Rob seems to be moving in slow motion to Regina, that a light perfectly illuminates behind Rob's head, shrouding him in an ethereal glow. Then for one second in time there was a flash of brown hair turning into sandy blonde, pale skin into one that was kissed by the sun, and an insufferable smirk into a dimpled grin. But those blue eyes that stared into the depths of the darkest part of her soul that had been lost for so long and brought light back into life and looked at her with nothing but love in them, just as they did now, were left unchanged.

This caused her to immediately freeze her movements and as soon as she blinked, Rob was standing in front of her shaking her shoulders and calling her name in concern. "Regina…Regina…are you ok?" His words that startled muffled, as if she were under water and he were above, started to become clearer as she glanced down at the floor, shook her head out of it, and looked back up at him, trying to avoid those same eyes that always felt familiar. Why did they feel familiar? It's just not possible. Robin is dead. "uhhh….yeah." she cleared her voice, thrown by what she may or may not have just seen. Was she going crazy? "I just a…need…to go get a drink of…a…water." She mumbled out, still avoiding his gaze, before she quickly maneuvered around him, made her way over to the drink table, ordered a glass of water, and downed the glass in a few gulps.

After slamming the glass back down on the table with a shaky hand, she knew she needed something stronger and ordered a double whiskey. As she waited, she couldn't help but try to process what she just got a glance of that just couldn't be. Was she still so lost in grief that her mind started playing games with her? Giving her flashes of what she desired most? Or was it so bad now she was having hallucinations?

Her mind kept reeling with questions until the bartender handed her the whiskey and she threw it back, finishing it in two gulps.

"I sure hope my dancing wasn't that atrocious." Rob teased coming up behind her, causing her to jump and then turn around to see him approaching. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to make sure you were ok. You turned so pale, like you saw a ghost."

 _Maybe because I did_ , she thought to herself before she answered him. "uh…no…I was just uh feeling a little dizzy from all the spinning." She lied, right through her teeth, and she didn't even believe herself. Neitherv did he, according to his scowl. "Really. I'm ok." Regina reiterated, trying to convince him she was in fact ok. "A little water and a little whiskey and I am right as rain. Really."

Rob didn't look quite convinced but he would let this one pass as she was starting to regain her normal coloring. "Ok. Let me know if you don't feel well again."

"I'm not a baby Rob. I can take care of myself." 

" I know that but I'm your friend and I care."

Before Regina could even reply, she felt a tugging on her skirt and looked down to see Roland looking up at her with wide eyes before he took her hand. "Can I have this dance, Milady?" He asked with the cutest, dimpled grin.

That right there warmed her heart. Bending down to his height, she smiled, and kissed his little hand. "Of course you can. Lead the way my good knight." Ever the little gentlemen, he took her hand and led her to the dance floor.

Without another word, Rob watched as Roland led her to the dance floor and Regina tried to show Roland how to dance properly. As he watched them in this moment, he wanted more than ever to fix this and be with his family. But he was a coward and couldn't tell her nor was he sure she would even believe him, probably think it was a cruel joke. So he had gone to the dark one and as dark ones did, he used his secrets against him and gave him a challenge that, he knew now as he watched Roland and Regina dance, that he can't do.

He needed air. So he went outside to the back yard and sauntered over to Regina's apple tree, leaning on it in support. As he stood there, he could still see the two of them happily dancing together with the biggest smiles on their faces. How he longed to finally be the family they always dreamed of. Why was it, no matter what they did, something always seems to separate them?

"Quite the picture the two of them together." Rumple's voice interrupted his thoughts as the imp suddenly appeared next to him. "Wouldn't you just love to be there with them? Be the family you always wanted to be? Not just a manny to the boy and oh so best friend to her."

Damn this monster for knowing his inner most desires. "How do you presume to know what I want it?" he challenged.

"Reading you, thief, is easy. You long to be a father to your boy again, to see your daughter grow everyday, to be a real father figure to her boy." He said gesturing his head towards Regina who was laughing as Roland danced on the tops of her feet. " You desire to be with Regina in every way. Now what you have to ask yourself is if you are desperate enough to do. As. I. Ask." Rumple taunted, his voice getting lower and darker as he enunciated the last few words with punctuation.

"What if I can't? What if I tell you to take your deal and shove it where the sun doesn't shine? That maybe I'll take that dagger of yours and stab it right through that black heart of yours because I won't do what you ask of me. She's come too far. I'd do anything to protect her. Even give my life for hers."

Rumple looked at him with an evil gleam in his smile. "There is darkness within you thief, isn't there? Then what you must ask yourself is how will she and everyone react to finding out you are not the same man everyone thinks you are. How will she…" he paused, pointing towards Regina. "React to finding out that you have been lying to her this. Whole. Time. Not only now but before too. Will she love you in spite of it all?"

Rob studied him as he backed away, not bothering to reply. How would Regina react to his past discretions and that he wasn't always the honorable man she had come to know?

"You better think quick thief." Rumple baited him as he backed away. "I'm getting impatient. One week. You have one more week, if not, it all comes out to every single person you ever cared about. All of your lies will come out, including this." He held up the pages that had been torn from the book and told the story of his past that he had buried away for so long. Before he continued, Rumple couldn't help but to let out a sinister laugh. "TICK ." With that, he poofed away in a bloom of maroon smoke.

Taking a deep breath, he looked up at her apple tree before turning his attention back to the ball room. His brows raised as he saw Regina bouncing his crying daughter as she tried to calm Zelena too. Without hesitation, he made his way through the back yard and back into the ball room towards Regina and Zelena. "Is everything ok?" he inquired with concern.

"She won't stop crying!." Zelena answered him, worry lacing her words. "She was fine when we got here but now…I've done everything. Fed her, changed her, and burped her. We went outside and walked around with her. I don't know what to do."

"It's probably a bit of colic." Regina answered Zelena.

"I agree." Rob said with certainty

"What makes you the baby whisperer suddenly?" Zelena snapped at him.

"If you must know, I hav—had a son." He caught himself before continuing and looking back to Regina. "Can I try something." He asked Regina as he held his hands out to take the baby.

Looking over to Zelena, Regina wanted to get the ok and with a roll of her eyes, Zelena nodded her head. With the permission granted, Regina transferred baby Robyn over to Rob, who cradled the crying baby in his arms. At first, he tried to resist looking at the baby with such reverence but he just couldn't help it. A wistful smile came over his, one that didn't go unnoticed by Regina, before he adjusted the baby to straddle his side and started swaying back a forth. It seems that whatever Rob was going to try wasn't needed because as soon as the baby opened her eyes, her wails scaled down to a whimper and then to nothing at all before a wide smile came across her face and a teary one came across Rob's.

Then her little palms with stretched out fingers came up and little Robyn giggled as she smacked Rob's cheeks over and over again then switched to patting his nose over and over again. As Rob and little Robyn were lost in their own world for a moment, Zelena and Regina looked at Rob in shock how he got the fussy baby to quiet so quickly.

But while they saw Rob giggling and making funny faces, baby Robyn saw something completely different. She saw her Papa. She could see sandy blonde hair and scruff, tanned skin, dimples, and gentle blue eyes so much like her own. No one knew yet, but she too had magic—one that could see through it.

After the baby felt bored of tapping Rob's face, she giggled, sucked on her fists, and then turned to reach out to Regina. "I guess she's tired of me." Rob joked as he handed her back to Regina.

"How did you do that?" Regina asked a little puzzled. "When Henry had colic it took me hours to calm him down too.

"Well I am the baby whisperer." He jested at both of them with a wink.

"Give me my daughter." Zelena spat, with a roll of her eyes again, as she took her back from Regina. "I've got to be getting her home anyways. It's well past her bedtime." Without even a goodbye or a wave, Zelena stomped away and made her way towards the exit.

"Always a delight she is." Rob commented with sarcasm as they watched her walk away. Really, both of them were glad that she left. "Now." Rob started again as he turned back towards Regina and held out his hand. "Why don't we show all of these peasants how to boogie?" One of those infamous smirks crossed his face.

"Did you really just say boogie?" One brow arched in question, not believing he just used that term.

"Yes. I did. Now are you going to dance or is her majesty scared?"

"I'm not scared of anything, Outlaw." Her chin lifted regally into the air in challenged. "Just don't step on my toes."

As she took his hand, he smirked a reply at her. "I wouldn't dream of it."

With wide eyes, she froze in place and chills ran down her spine and the hair stood on its ends at those words—those words that again were oh so familiar. This wasn't the first time Rob said those words to her either.

"Regina." He asked trying to get her attention and he had to repeat it a few times before she seemed to come out of her thoughts. "Are you ok? Was it something I said?" He knew what he did but he had to play dumb.

"I'm fine, Outlaw." She played it off as if she was ok but something was jarring her soul tonight with him and she still didn't know what to make of that flash of Robin's face earlier. Right now, she was chalking it up to grief but why did that feel wrong? "I thought we were dancing." She answered in the middle of her thoughts before Rob led her on the dance floor.

For the next hour, Rob and Regina danced just as they had in that bar all those weeks ago—free and without reservation. They danced as if no one was watching and eventually Roland and Henry came to join is as well. Together they were silly and its as if Robs goal was to make them all laugh with his terrible dancing. Or like he was having a seizure, as Henry said. Then as the music changed to a slower song, Regina of course had to dance with her little prince. As she took Henry's hand, she couldn't help to feel a bit crestfallen that she no longer had to bed down in order to dance with him anymore. Now, even in her heels, she stood just about an inch taller than him.

After they twirled and waltzed, Henry ran back over to violet and his other friends while she looked over to see Rob and Roland dancing together. It caused her heart to skip a beat because she remembered a moment from the missing year when Robin had done the same with his son. As she watched, the ache of missing Robin stabbed through her soul again and tears threatened to fall—she needed some air.

Doing her best to go unnoticed, she maneuvered around the people through the ball room and made her way out back to her apple tree. Needing a moment alone, she leaned against the tree she had found solace in for so long and took a deep breath before she looked up at the scattering of stars in the sky, wondering if one of those was Robin watching over them. God she missed the stupid thief—her thief.

With a heavy heart, she continued to stare at the sky and almost dared to wish him back to her but she knew It was pointless because he was gone—obliterated. "I miss you." She whispered to herself, eyes not leaving the stars above and to her surprise, a gentle breeze fluttered through her hair and face, one that almost felt like a lover's caress, and it caused a tingle to zing down her spine and goose bumps scattered on her skin. Then for whatever reason, she felt like someone was there and turned around, finding Rob casually leaning against the door way back into the ball room.

When he felt her stare, he looked up and then made his way towards her. "You ok?" he asked in concern once he stood in front of her. "You disappeared on us."

She felt a little hesitant to answer his question. "I just needed some air. It was hot in there with all the people."

"You're a terrible lair." He interjected.

"Am not—" She protested back.

"Are too." He cut her off with a chuckle before he continued. "It's alright to say it out loud Regina."

"Say what?" she asked, as if she had no idea what he was referring to but of course she did because somehow this man before her was able to read her like a book. Damn him.

"It's ok to say you miss him." With those words, he placed his hands on her shoulders in friendly comfort.

Her eyes turned glassy as she said the words. "I miss him…so much." She whimpered, trying not let anymore tears fall.

"And that's ok." Rob tried to convince her in comfort. "You know, you never really told me about him. It helps to talk. Might make you feel better and, maybe even, lessen the pain a little."

"You're probably right." She acquiesced, not wanting to argue against him because he was annoyingly right—bastard. "But now is not the right time. Maybe later after the ball?"

"Whatever you want." He replied as he squeezed her hand. "I'm here for you…always."

At those familiar words, her head whipped up and she met his blue eyes that she didn't realize until now always felt familiar too—like she was coming home. As blue eyes continued to gaze into brown, she was so lost in own mind and shocked, she didn't see Rob slowly drop his head to meet hers. It was like a moth to a flame. It was like there was a string that tethered their souls together and caused them to pull towards each other like two magnets that would cling together and not let go without a fight. This was how it felt with Robin but Rob was not Robin and it wasn't possible. Robin was dead.

It was with this thought that it felt like a bucket of cold water was dumped on Regina and right before his lips brushed hers, she pulled back and walked away, hands covering mouth as she mumbled " .no." to herself. Rob kept calling her name but she didn't turn around. She couldn't look at him. For whatever reason, she felt this pull towards him and she shouldn't, she just lost Robin. But why did it feel the same?

Before she turned around, she took a wavering breath and centered herself. "Why?" she asked him, as she turned and faced him again.

"Why what?" Rob voiced, repeating her words back to her.

"Why do I feel this pull towards you when I shouldn't? Not when Robin just died? Why do I feel drawn to you since we met when I shouldn't?" she began before gulping down the tightness that built her throat before continuing, voice wavering with emotion. "You say things that I've heard before that he…" she cut herself off, not wanting to finish the sentence but Rob knew she was referring to himself as Robin. "The way you are with Roland and how he has taken to you. The way little Robyn calmed as you took her and how her eyes lit up. The insufferable smirk you wear that I came to know during the missing year. How my soul just feels cold. How I feel so cold all the time but when I wear Robin's hoodie or cover myself with his cloak, I don't feel so cold anymore or how can it be that I don't feel so cold when you're around." She's almost becoming breathless now with her thoughts vomiting out without comprehension. "How you read me like a book and always seem to know how to make me feel better. How I always feel like I can trust you when I shouldn't or open up to you without fear of judgment and…" she paused, flicking her eyes down and then back up again. "Those blue eyes that stare into my soul and have…"

At her pause, he looked up and cut her off in question. "That have what?"

"Love in them." She finished her sentence in answer, taking one step closer to him and took a deep breath before she continued. "Tell me I'm not going crazy. Tell me I'm not going crazy as we were dancing and I saw a flash of…" she paused, stumbling to actually choke out the words because it just wasn't possible. Was all of this because of grief? Was her grief causing her to now hallucinate? Was she going crazy?

"A flash of what?" he asked in curiosity, realizing that whatever she saw was the reason she turned pale as ghost. Guilt crossed his soul as she let out how she was feeling because of everything. No she was definitely not crazy. He was just a coward and a fool. He doesn't deserve her.

"Of him…in you." She mumbled looking up at him and he was gobsmacked. How was that even possible? He didn't even get a chance to reply before she rambled on again. "It doesn't even matter because it's not possible. This all must be grief and me projecting him on to you." She tried to reason continuing with her long-winded thoughts. "Then I realized you have yet to tell me who you really are- your past? I don't even know your last name! no one does. Who are you? What is going on? Tell me I'm not going crazy or if I am!" she stopped exacerbated, a little out of breath as she ran her hands through her hair before looking directly at Rob again. "What is going on?" she asked, almost pleading for an answer to feel like she wasn't going insane. He hated himself for making her feel this way.

Hesitantly, he continued their gaze as he approached her and took both of hands gently into his. "You're not going crazy." He started as she let out the breath she was holding in anticipation. "There's an explanation to everything but I can't tell you right now." A huff came out from her, not happy with the answer, but he held help his hand in protest to keep her from answering. "But I will. Eventually. When it's safe to do so."

"Safe? You mean when Gold isn't involved." She raised a brow at him as he gawked at her, not realizing she knew. "Yes. I know. Snow told me she saw you arguing with him in Granny's and I saw you outside with him earlier tonight. I have eyes everywhere. What's going on there? He's no threatening , is he?"

Embarrassed, Rob just let go of her hands and tucked them into his pockets, staring at a root of her tree sticking up from the ground in order not to meet her scrutinizing eyes.

"Robert." She taunted, trying to get him to look up. She was staring daggers at him now, wondering why he was avoiding her. "Look up. At. Me. Now."

Braving himself, he looked up and was prepared to see the daggers but he also saw concern there as well. "Something like that yes."

"Why?" she asked but she already knew the answer and his silence with the look of guilt on his face confirmed her suspicions. She knew how Rumple liked to do things. "What deal did you make with him and why?" she asked in order for him to resume speaking.

"I wanted to fix things." He sighed out in annoyance, knowing he can't offer her anything more right now. He didn't know the consequences if he told her—from Rumple or for him.

"Fix what?" she demanded to know, now getting aggravated, as she crossed her arms in front of her.

"I can't tell you—"

She cut him off before he could mutter another word. "That's not an answer." She huffed in irritation.

"I'm sorry." He said sincerely to her. "Like I said I can't tell you right now but I will explain everything in time. Trust me." He said as he placed his hands on her shoulders and for whatever reason, even though there wasn't a good one at this point, she did. "Fine." She conceded, knowing he was just as stubborn as her. "But you better promise me an explanation soon." Regina had no idea even what to expect from him or why he can't explain things right now but her instincts said to trust me.

"I promise." He vowed to her with honesty and he was pleased when she nodded her head, though a little hesitantly. She would find out everything in a week because he was a selfish coward of a man with no honor "Now, enough with this heavy stuff. Let's go back inside so I can make you laugh while I fall on my ass."

With a something resembling a snicker, she followed him back into the hall where he made her cackle in laughter until Roland came up to them with droopy tired eyes, asking Regina if they could home. So they said their goodbyes, leaving Henry as he wanted to stay longer, and made their way back to the mansion. Of course Rob insisted he see them home safely and Regina caved, figuring they could talk anyways. Maybe talking to him about Robin would help and make sense of everything.

After they walked through the door and went up stairs, a drowsy Roland stirred as she laid him down on her bed. "Are we home, Gina?"

"Yes, we are." She bopped him on the nose with her finger and he scrunched his face in cuteness. "And we are going to get you into your pajamas then straight to bed."

"ok." Roland chirped before Regina helped him get into his favorite bow and arrows pajamas. Just as Regina was about to tuck him in with a kiss, Roland pushed the comforter back from him, remembering he had something to give her. "Wait, R'gina. I want to give you something." After he wiggled out of bed, he puttered his way over to his play tent and dove inside. A few seconds later, he rushed out of his tent and hopped back on the bed with a bounce. In his hands was a gift, messily wrapped in a way only a child could do and he held it up to her with both hands and his dimpled smile. "This is for you, Gina." He explained. "Henry helped me make it and Mr. Rob picked it up with me and helped me wrap it."

"Oh, Roland, aren't you just the sweetest." The smile that he was giving her warmed her heart as she went to take it, figuring it was what he made in the arts and craft store with Anastasia.

"I want to ask you something but you have to open it first." He explained. "I asked Henry already and he said it was ok with him and he thought it would be ok with you too. But that I should ask you too. That it would mean the world to you."

"What did you ask him, sweetheart?" Regina inquired back to him, running his hands through his messy curls. A cut would definitely be needed within the next few days.

"You HAVE to open it first." Roland repeated back to her in a whiney tone only a child could get away with.

"ok." she gave in and looked down as she tore open the forest green, shiny wrapping paper. When she pulled back the last fold, her heart leapt at what lay inside. It was almost the same thing Henry had made for her at Roland's age. A piece of clay molded into a square with Roland's own hand print pressed in the middle, painted green, and had the words "For Mama" engraved above and below the hand print. Her heart soared and eyes turned glassy as she looked at Roland who held such hope in his eyes. It was a hope that she was afraid he would never have again.

"Can I call you Mama?" he asked a little nervously, afraid she would say no. He fiddled with his fingers not looking at her. "You 'dopted Henry and he calls you Mom. He has two Mama's only Mama Marian is with the stars, like papa and Henry said it was ok if we shared." When he was finished, he looked up from his fingers at her and tilted his head, waiting for an answer.

A single tear slid down Regina's cheek before she choked out an answer. "Of course you can Roland." She gently cupped his cheek. "You're already my son and in a few weeks we will have that little piece of paper that makes this family official."

He then bounded into her arms and hugged her tight, head snuggled into her chest. The boy finally felt at home at home in the world and safe since his Papa went up with the stars. "I love you, Mama." He said sweetly, as he cuddled closer to her.

" I love you too, my little knight." She murmured back to him while she ran her hands through his hair, kissed his forehead, and rocked him back and forth until sleep won and the boy fell into a deep sleep. Regina would mark this moment into one of her happiest memories and held Roland long past when he fell asleep, taking the time to cherish this moment.

Without knowing it, Rob stood on the other side of the wall to right of the door, listening in and cherishing the moment himself. As he leaned his head against the wall, a few tears dripped off his face. His boy was right where he belonged and he hoped to be with them one day again. With a sad smile, he wiped his eyes and quietly made his way downstairs to the living room to wait for Regina.

About fifteen minutes later, she entered the living room having changed into leggings, a tank top, and Robin's—or his—hoodie. While staring and smiling down at what he knew to be the clay hand print, she sat down next to him without a word. Thumbs traced gently on the sides of the clay piece. "Roland asked me if he could call me Mama."

"I know." Rob countered back to her. "I helped him wrap it. He was so nervous."

Looking up a moment, she smiled and then glanced back down at the clay piece. "For a long time, I didn't think I would ever have a child to call me mom and now I have two beautiful boys who do." She wiped away a rogue tear that escaped.

"Those boys are right where they should be. They're lucky to have you just as you are them." He reassured her.

Without answering right away, she leaned back against the cushions, crossed her feet, and then answered. "Robin should be here. He should be here to see his son grow up."

"He sees him, trust me Regina." If only she could read his mind and the real meanings behind his words, not just that he was watching over them from heaven.

With a sad smile, she nodded and gently laid the clay mold on the coffee table before leaning back against the cushions again, only this time angling herself towards him and propping her head on her elbow. "I think you're right. I think it will help talking about him."

"Then talk and I'll listen." He offered her without hesitation. "What are best friends for?"

So for the next few hours, Regina told Rob the story of how an evil queen fell for a thief and vice versa. She told him the story of Pixie dust and lion tattoos. She shared the good times and the bad, even told him about Marian actually being Zelena in disguise. Told him of the heart break she felt at finding out about the pregnancy. Then for whatever reason, she even told him of feelings that she never had the heart to share with Robin because he felt guilty enough and it wasn't his fault. Eventually, her eyes started to droop and she admitted to Rob that she was dog tired, so she laid down at the other end of the cushions and propped her bare feet on his lap.

He didn't move until her breathing evened out and he knew she was fast asleep. Gingerly, he got up without disturbing her and slightly jogged up the stairs to her room. When he returned, he covered her with his old green cloak she had stolen from his camp in the Sherwood and kept it beneath her comforter upstairs and then kissed her on her forehead. As he looked at her sleeping peacefully, he knew he couldn't do what Rumple had asked, even though he was a desperate man. If he were honest with himself, it was an impossible task from the beginning and he would never do anything to purposefully hurt her. Maybe he was even hurting her now but he was conflicted, lost, and didn't know what to do. So for now, maybe it was best he keep his distance until whatever move Rumple would make. "Please don't hate me after this." He choked out in a whisper before he took quiet steps and left the house.

Next Chapter: What does it mean to be soulmates?  
(this whole distance thing lasts like two paragraphs of next chapter)

Please let me know what you think! I hope to have the next chapter out soon.


	15. What Does it Mean to Be Soulmates?

AN: well here we go. Thanks to all of those who reviewed, favorite, and followed! As always, mistakes are all mine. Please excuse them. *holds breath*

 _Who are you,  
The one for who I'd really gladly suffer  
Who are you,  
The one I'd always love above another  
You're my world, you're my hope, you're all my dreams and all my heart_

 _Who are you  
The one I'd give my life to  
Who are you,  
that loves as deep as I do_

 _Who are you,  
Who takes me through the flood and through the fire  
Who are you,  
Who leads me through the desert and the dry  
You're in my thoughts, you know my mind  
You are my fate, you are my light_

 _Who are you  
The one I'd give my life to  
Who are you,  
that loves as deep as I do_

 _You're my savior, you're my center  
My beginning and my end  
You're the one I live for, you're my angel  
Who are you  
You're in my thoughts (in my thoughts)  
You know my mind (you know my mind)  
You are my fate, you are my light_

 _Who are you  
The one I'd give my life to  
Who are you,  
that loves as deep as I do  
Who are you  
Who fell on me like fire  
Who are you,  
Who takes me through desire  
Carrie Underwood—who are you?_

Chapter 15: What Does it Mean to Be Soul Mates?

 _"In each of us two natures are at war...the good and the evil. All of our lives the fight goes on between them. but one of them must conquer. In our own hands lies the power to choose. What we want most to be, we are."- Dr. Henry jekyll_

A week had passed since the ball and all had returned to normal, except one thing. Rob had been avoiding her like the plague and she hadn't the slightest clue why. Sure they had the intense conversation by her apple tree and it was apparent there were things he was hiding, but it seemed things had ended amicably between them. Still, he was avoiding her.

During the day, he came as he was supposed to in order to watch Roland but as soon as she came home from work, he left with barely a goodbye or a wave. Maybe later she would try to call or text him. It was the weekend and Roland was with the Merry Men on this one. Usually they would be doing something together but he hadn't texted nor did he call and he never said anything before he left yesterday.

"Morning Mom." Henry greeted her with a smile as he came into the kitchen to get some breakfast.

"Good morning, sweetheart." Turning, she smiled and then gave him a hug when he was next to her. "Did you sleep well?"

"Not too bad." Looking up, he answered her.

"Good." She nodded, rubbing his bicep up and down with the arm she had wrapped around his shoulder. "What can I get you for breakfast?"

After he paused in thought for a moment, he perked up as he knew the perfect thing. "How about apple pancakes?"

"Those sound perfect." She agreed as she went to the cabinets and started to gather the ingredients.

"So it's Saturday and Roland is with the Merry Men. Do you and Rob have plans today?" Henry questioned as she brought everything to the center island, a grimace crossing her face.

"No." she stated without going further until Henry gave her that look that said she should elaborate a little more. "He never said anything when he was here and I haven't heard from him. I feel like he's avoiding me." It felt nice to admit her concerns to someone.

"He has seen a little off this week. Maybe he's just stressed, trying to acclimate to this world."

Regina had to admit, her boy was smart but it didn't feel like that. "Maybe."

"Are you going to be ok by yourself today if you guys don't do anything?" Henry asked, a little concerned about his mom being alone without Roland or Rob when she hadn't been without someone for awhile now.

"I'll be fine Henry." She reached out and squeezed his hand quickly before pulling back to continue with breakfast.

"You sure? Maybe Grandma can you keep you company?"

"Honestly Henry, I just spent a "girls night" with her and Emma last night, I think I've had enough of Snow's hope speeches for the weekend. I'll open a bottle of wine and read the book I've been meaning to start for weeks now. Don't worry about me. It's my job to worry about you, not the other way around. " Her tone was one that said this conversation was final and seemed to work because Henry just nodded his head. "Now get over here and help me with these. Emma will be waiting for you."

So for the next hour, Regina and Henry enjoyed breakfast together before Henry raced up to get ready to leave to spend the day with Emma and the Pirate. After he had left, she decided to text Rob to make sure everything was ok. Maybe everything she was thinking was all in her mind. A few minutes after she sent the first text, he answered her which was a good sign and continued to do so but in short one or just a few worded answers, which were all kind of evasive.

She asked if he was ok and he said _fine._ Then she brought up if they would be doing anything today and he said _can't, I'm busy_. After that she got a little more ballsy and asked if he was avoiding her and he just replied _no, other things to do today and he would make it up to her_. This helped but she still had this feeling that lingered in the bit of her stomach. Feeling lonely and unable to sit around, she got dressed in black shorts and her more laid back gray shirt to make her way out for the day. When she felt this loneliness and like she needed to talk to someone, she did what she always did and made her way to the grave yard.

Without even thinking about it, she unconsciously made her way to the tombstone that stood adjacent to her vault. For awhile, she didn't say anything and just tried to take the comfort of just being there with him, but it didn't help. As a tear fell, she began with a choked "I miss you…So much."

From there, she did what she always did and told him of what happened this past week, telling him of the ball, dinner with Emma and Snow, how Roland asked to call her Mama, and of the hair cut he got this past week. "It looks just like yours did." She explained to him as she wiped away an errant tear. After she finished, she just sat there and listened to the chirping of the birds, rustle of the wind through the trees, and cawing of the crows over head. Before she left, the words tumbled out as they always did without her control. "I love you, Robin of Locksley, so much. I wish I would have had the chance to tell you wh—when you were al—" Her emotions were starting to take over and she couldn't even finish that last word. "I only hope that you can hear me now." She muttered out, an emotional croakiness to her voice.

"Oh I think he hears you loud and clear Dearie." Rumple taunted as he appeared around from behind the vault causing Regina to jump in surprise, having no idea that he was there. "What are you talking about?" Honestly, she had no idea what he was referring to but instead of answering, he just stared at her with his signature grin before opening his mouth again but not really talking to her at all. "Come on, Show yourself thief!"

Regina had to reiterate once again, having no idea what he was referring to. "What are you talking about?"

Again Rumple was talking to someone but not her. "Come out, Come out wherever you are, thief." It came out in an eerie sing song voice. Rumple waited and still no one appeared; now he was getting agitated. "Come out thief or I will force you and you don't want to force my hand. I know you're lurking around here!"

After this threat, there was a rustle from the tree behind her and then a pair of legs could be seen dangling before a body dropped from the trees into a crouched position before standing up. It was Rob.

Regina's mouth was open in shock before she stood up and a look of anger took over. "What are you doing? Spying on me?"

As she was speaking, Rob's head shot up to look at her. "I prefer to call it protectively looking over you."

"Are you watching me all the time?" she asked now annoyed.

"No." Is all Rob replied.

"Do you watch me through the window in my home too?"

"No." Rob answered quickly, a little astonished she could actually think he would invade her privacy in that way. "I'm not a peeping Tom."

"Enough squabbling like children." Rumple jumped in to cut off their bickering, first looking to Regina. "Now it comes to why I am here, your majesty." Then he looked over to Rob with a knowing malicious smirk on her face. "Your last chance, Thief, Do you want to tell her or should I?"

Even though he wanted to, he just couldn't find the strength to open his mouth and bowed his head down in embarrassment. He didn't want to see the disappointment in her eyes.

"Someone tell me what is going on?" Regina bellowed, getting more agitated. "NOW!"

Before either could open their mouths, chatter could be heard coming towards them and slowly got louder until Emma, Hook, the charmings, and Henry made their way towards them.

"Ah, perfect timing." Rumple said in almost excitement.

"Why did you call us here, Gold" Emma asked as she crossed her arms in front of her, voice drenched with frustration.

"Well…I'm glad you asked, savior. I brought you all here for a little story time." Rumple goaded as he then turned back towards Rob and held up the rolled pages in his hand. "And it's quite the story, wouldn't you agree thief"

"DON'T DO THIS" Rob Howled towards Dark One.

"We HAD a deal." Rumple screamed back as he pointed towards Rob. "And NO ONE breaks a deal with the Dark One. NO ONE. Now…Its time for everyone, including her majesty, to find out—"

"Find out what? Are those pages from the book? Why does he keep calling him Thief?" Regina curtly interrupted Rumple from her spot kneeling on the ground, getting more agitated each second as her patience waned. At some point the others had made their way and stood behind her, also confused yet interested in what was happening.

"Who he really is." Rumple acknowledged her question as he pointed at Rob with each word. "To answer your other question, yes, it's the story of his past that he didn't want anyone, including you your majesty, finding out. Now…If you would stop interrupting me, I'd say it's time to start the story."

Off to the side, Rob leaned against the giant oak tree with his head bowed in defeat and not knowing how Regina was going to react to everything. Would she hate him?

After clearing his throat, Rumple began the tale. "Once upon a time…"

 _There was a young prince named Robert, oldest of two boys, who was born to the kingdom with the greenest of forests. He was the apple of his mother's eye while his while his brother took more to his father, who was a hard ruler who took to the bottle in times of stress. The Queen, on the other hand, was a kind ruler with a soft touch who was forced into this arranged marriage that was not one of love. Her boy was never far behind, always following her around like a baby bird, which is how he got his nickname._

 _He had a heart of gold while his brother was a little terror. As they got older, the difference in personalities only showed more. The young heir had a soft hand and golden heart like his mother but so unlike his father who did not. As the kingdom struggled, so did the king who took to the bottle and the more he took to the bottle, the angrier he got._

 _One night he drank more than he ever had and after the Queen denied him, she ended up with a slap to the face. The more the king continued to drink, the more the abuse happened and the more the Queen hid it from her two boys to keep them safe and out of the line of fire._

 _The boys grew up to become strong men but they watched as their mother grew more weary from the unknown abuse. On the night of his 18_ _th_ _birthday, the noble prince, went to his mother's chambers to share a sweet cake with her as he always did on his birthday. When he arrived, he heard a ruckus and clambering on the end of the door. He even heard screams but when he reached for the door it was locked._

 _Ramming against it, he tried to get in as the sounds continued but the strong wooden door wouldn't budge. Then suddenly, the sounds on the other side of the door stopped and he heard the door click open. Immediately, he opened the door, ran in, and what he saw caused his heart to drop. By the fireplace, he saw his mother's body stiff and unmoving. Rushing to her side, he bent down and all he could focus on were the bruises on her neck and the reflection of the fire in the glassiness of her unblinking eyes that would haunt him for the rest of his days. He didn't need to feel for a pulse to know that his mother was dead. Anger started to take over._

" _Harlot had it coming to her."Rang his father's slurred voice from the chair he was sitting on in the corner before he stood up and came into the light of the fire. "She was weak. Just like you—Mama's Boy." Anger turned to rath at his father's taunts and the prince then knew his emotions were out of his control. His mother was dead. Murdered by the hands of his own father. With the pace a sloth, he turned to look at his father, pupils dilated in rage, and got to his feet to slowly make his way towards his father who backed away with fear on his face._

" _I am NOT weak and neither was she." The prince grunted before he tackled his father to the ground and began throwing punch after punch across his face with blood flying through the air landing on his face and shirt. When his arms tired from the repeated swings, he reached down, wrapped his hands around his father's neck, cutting office his oxygen supply, and watched as his wretched father gurgled and grunted for breath. With in the gurgle, his father spoke and struggled to get out the mocking words "Little Bird", causing the prince to squeeze harder and watch as the life drained from the King's eyes._

 _He loosened his grip and without a second thought, he turned and went to his mother, crying as he cradled her in his arms. "I'm so sorry mother I didn't protect you better." Then there was foot steps echoing from outside that he knew belonged to his brother, probably looking for their now dead father, and would hang him, thinking he killed both parents. Knowing he had no other choice,he kissed his mother's cold cheek one last time before he fled the kingdom and gave up his birth right, leaving his sinister brother to rule._

 _His brother put a bounty on his head—dead or alive—for treason against the crown and murder of the King and Queen. It became hard to hide as even the neighboring kingdom knew his face and those that didn't could because of the wanted posters scattered throughout the land. He laid low as darkness, anger, and self loathing took over. One day he heard talks of a witch who lived deep in the forest who may be able to assist him. After collecting further information on this witch's where about, he traveled into the depths of the darkest parts of the woods and found her cabin._

 _The witch was willing to help him but only if he did something in return. She required ingredients from the Dark One's castle and, even though he heard rumors and knew of the dangers, he quickly agreed. Just getting out by the skin of his teeth, he was able to retrieve what the witch needed. His reward was a glamour potion that would hide him by bringing forth the physical representation of his other half. No one would recognize him._

 _Now hidden, Robert lived while stealing from others and it didn't matter if they rich or poor, woman or man, adult or child. Nothing got in his way. He would kill to survive. Darkness, anger, and self-loathing ate at his soul that he was losing from the light. His mother would be so disappointed in him._

 _The darkness encroached on him more every day until he met two men, who would become his friends, provide support, and bring him slowly back into the light, giving him something else to live for. But he couldn't live with his darkness or live with knowing his past mis deeds. While drinking at a local pub one night with his friends, he heard tales of a wizard of sorts working on a serum that could separate your good from your evil side. The only catch was this "doctor" was in another land that needed a key to get thru the door and the only one who had one was the local count. He smiled, knowing this one of castles that was easier to break in._

 _After easily nicking the key from said count, he easily found the door in his castle and made his way towards this doctor he heard tales of. Dr Jekyll was thrilled to have someone willing to try it but would need one last ingredient to complete his serum that he had ran out of, the golden forsythia. What's one more night of selfish thievery?_

 _Like taking candy from a baby, he returned with more Forsythia than the doctor could ever dream of. With the final ingredient added, the serum was complete and the doctor asked if he was ready. Without blinking an eye, Robert rolled up his sleeve and let the doctor inject him, causing him to scream as his two halves tore apart from one another. Once separated, they quickly cuffed his darker half and locked him down in the dungeons below, never to be heard of again. His dark halve's story stalled there._

 _The Prince felt free but there was one last thing to do. He had to visit the witch again and use magic once last time in order for his friends to know him as always being this man. From this point on, The prince swore to avoid magic all at costs._

 _Rumor has it, the prince's band of men grew and he fell in love with a fair maiden. Taking it on themselves to make their own noble cause, they would go on to steal from the rich and give to the poor. The prince of Sherwood Forest would no longer be known as Robert of Locksley, or Robin of Locksley as his dear mother nicknamed him, but henceforth would be known as Robin Hood._

"The End." Rumple said with a salacious grin on his face as he held out the page with Robin's light and dark self depicted on the page out to Regina, who was staring out in front of her in shock at the tale she just heard. How was this possible?

Behind her, the charmings, her son, and hook's jaws were open in shock. Robin hadn't moved and held his head in shame, not wanting to see the look of disappointment on Regina's face. Was he ever an honorable man or was he always a fraud?

Slowly, Regina got to her feet and walked over to rumple. Without a word and with shakey hands, she reached out and took the pages from Rumple. Before her on the page, was the Robin she had always known with bright eyes and dimpled smile but below there was also the depiction of the man she had come to know as Robert with dark hair, pompous smirk, and the blue eyes that had always felt familiar. Now she knew why because Robin and Robert were one in the same with one being his light and the other his darkness. As she was taking this all in, she just stared at the page shaking in her hands—flabbergasted.

"You know." Rumple chimed in as everyone was still silent, not really understanding everything that was going on. "I think there was a lesson on glamouring and that there are some things that you just can't hide that I never taught you. The things that are truly part of you, for instance—scars, birth marks, beauty marks." Rumple's finger glided across the queens cheek down to her birth mark she wore on the side of her chin. Disgusted, she batted his hand away before he sniggered at her in delight. "And even Tattoos." As he finished those words, Regina's head shot up to pay attention to his next question. "Tell me, Your Majesty, did you ever notice his rather warm clothing on hot summer days and did you really believe him when he said he had sensitive skin while swimming together." Regina's eyes widened in shock, not understanding how he knew about that day. He just chuckled darkly. " You forget, Your Majesty, I have eyes everywhere…but just let me say say today is rather hot for long sleeves, isn't it." With a wicked sneer, he looked at Rob who still held his head in shame while Rumple seemed rather proud of his rhetorical question.

Realizing what Rumple was insinuating, Regina slowly turned to finally look at Rob before she dropped the pages, letting them float to the ground, and tromped over to him. Without bothering to look at him, she grabbed his right wrist a bit roughly, undid the sleeve button, and rolled it up, her breath catching as the lion tattoo that haunted her dreams for so long was revealed to her. A whimper escaped and eyes watered as she covered her mouth with a shakey hand. How was this possible?

At the same time, they looked up and their eyes met, an electric current running between them. Blue eyes met brown and Regina could honestly say she knew those eyes because they belonged to her Robin. No wonder she always felt a pull towards him and this version was equally insufferable! Was it possible that he was back within his dark self and he wasn't obliterated? Was their some of magic that kept him tethered to this world?

With the hand that covered her mouth, she brought it to his cheek and rubbed her thumb back and forth along his scruff, eyes flickering back and forth as she thought of all the circumstances that could have made this happen. As she did this, Rob closed his eyes and savored the feeling of her hand against his cheek. Then she brought her other hand and traced his forehead as he opened his eyes and watched her as she traced her thumbs down to his eyebrows, over his eyes causing them to close, then open again as she slid them down to his nose, and then down to his dimples before stopping. "R—Ro—Robin?" she questioned in a broken voice, unsure if this was real.

"Yes, Milady." He answered her with a hopeful, watery smile and waited for a reaction, to which her breath hitched and a whispered gasp escaped. Grasping both of her hands with his, he kissed each palm before continuing. "It's me. I've been with you, always."

"How is this possible?" she whispered, still shocked and confused how any of this could be possible, especially because she was right there as she watched him take the proverbial bullet for her.

Keeping both of her hand clutched in his, he brought them to his chest and over his heart. " it seems you aren't the first to want to get rid of their dark half and It seems our connection and love is stronger than the power of the gods." His smile beamed as he watched her take in the information, clearly thinking there was more to it and not believing this possible for her. "What you saw happened. My soul was separated from my body but couldn't be obliterated because my other half lived on. Before my other half was brought here from the land of untold of stories, my soul was tethered to you. I followed you wherever you went, even to New York. But when we returned to Storybrooke and Hyde brought his people with him, I felt myself being ripped from you and before I knew it, I was rejoined with my former self.

Overwhelmed in different emotions that included shock at how this was possible, joy that he was somehow alive, and anger at him for not telling her, she pulled her hands from his, turned her back, and walked a few steps away from him, trying to process all this information. What kind of magic was at play here? Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and turned her head to the summer sun, taking in its warmth and hoping somehow it would give her strength. Tilting her head back down, she opened her eyes and saw Snow staring at her with a knowing smirk. The rest of the charming clan looked gobsmacked and rumple leaned against her vault, looking like he couldn't be less interested.

"I know what you're thinking." Rob started again, trying to explain everything as best as he could. "Why didn't I tell you?"

Her shoulder's tensed for a moment then relaxed. Damn the bastard for knowing what she was thinking even when she wasn't looking at him. No wonder why she always felt a connection and felt drawn to him. "The truth is I didn't know what to do. I didn't know if you would believe me. I didn't want you to be disappointed by my past and the fact I wasn't the man you knew me to be. I didn't know to fix this."

Before Regina turned back to him, an possible idea crossed her mind on how to fix this but she wasn't sure it would work. If their connection and love was powerful enough to survive the Olympian crystal and Hades, could it also fix it and bring back Robin to the man he truly is? Could she have her thief back? Could his children have their father back?

She looked back up to snow, who smirked and nodded her head, knowing what Regina was thinking. Leave it to snow to have hope this would work.

Turning back to Rob (or robin?), she wiped away a rogue tear and marched to stand back in front of him. "Oh stupid thief." She whispered as she cupped his cheek again and he took her other hand in his. "I am disappointed but not in the way you think."

"What?" He had a bemused look on his face, not knowing what she was going to say."

"I'm disappointed because you think I can't handle a little darkness."

"It's not just a little darkness." He pointed out, looking down from her eyes in mortification before she moved her hand from his cheek to his chin and tilted his face back up to meet her gaze.

"Join the club." She teased with a smile as she took both of his hands and gave them a gentle, loving squeez. He chuckled in return.

"I-I may know a way to fix this." She said, still a little unsure, but she knew the only way this would work was if she believed.

"How?" he questioned with a tilt of his head.

"Do you trust me, completely?"

"I do." He reiterated those words he had first said to her in the office when "Marian" had been put under the ice curse.

"Ok." she took a deep breath as she stepped a little closer and cupped his cheek again. "I want you know, I'm with you, always. No matter what." She knew she would love him no matter what, darkness and all. _God, please let this work._ Then she leaned in gently and he finally realized what she was thinking. He knew she was right and didn't know why he himself didn't think of this sooner. So he glanced down before closing his eyes and meeting halfway, lips lightly brushing before a more hearty and passionate kiss was shared between the two. It took a nerve racking second, but a current of electricity shot up from their toes until it met their lips, creating a pulse of magic radiate from them so strong, it caused Regina to fly back, roll a few times, before she came to a stop, and then leaned back up on her hands to look towards Rob.

With a hand clasped over her mouth in shock, she watched as waves of the whitest magic developed at his feet and began to overtake him in a tornado like fashion. It overtook him completely, up to his head until it started to disappear the way it came, from the ground up. As Regina continued to watch, she held her hand over her mouth, tears formed in her eyes, and she rocked back and forth as her nails dug into the grass below.

The tornado of white magic continued to disappear to reveal brown cargo paints, a cream henly with forest green quilted vest, a quiver belt wrapped around his chest and waist, up to a maroon scarf around his neck, and then finally the tornado disappeared, revealing the man she had come to know as her soulmate.

Robin was back.

Before anyone said anything, Robin examined his hands and then went to touch his face, making sure this was real. A bright smile formed on his face as he looked back up to a still shocked Regina on the ground "Hello, my love." He too was on the verge of tears.

Without hesitation, she jumped up, ran towards him, to give him what everyone thought was going to be a hug. But Regina didn't know if this was real or one of those aching beautiful dreams that haunt her. Robin held his arms open for a hug but that was not what he received. After she reached him, tight fists pounded into his chest over and over as she screamed at him. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO GET IN MY WAY. WHY CAN'T YOU EVER LISTEN YOU STUPID THIEF!" Her fists continued to hit his chest as she cried, not sure if she was relieved or angry at him, until Robin struggled to grab her wrists to get her stop. "Regina! Stop! Regina stop it." He continued to struggle until he finally was able to gently grasp her wrists and pulled her into a hug as she clutched with white knuckles onto his henly and continued to sob into his chest. Still in shock, her shakey legs couldn't hold her anymore and she would have fallen if Robin didn't catch her. They ended up on their knees as Regina continued to weep into neck, arms now wrapped around his lower back in order to hold him close.

Off to the side, the Charmings, Emma, Hook, and Henry watched the scene in astonishment. "And we thought Zelena being Marian was crazy." Emma commented a shes gawked and couldn't look away from the scene in front of her.

"But this is a good crazy thing." Snow said with a choked up voice. "He's back. It wasn't fair she had to lose love again but he's back."

"Did he ever really leave?" Charming stated, pointing out the obvious question.

"I guess he didn't. He's been with her all along." Henry replied with a bright smile on his face as he watched his mom and Robin reuniting yet again.

Robin continued to hold a weeping and shaking Regina as he peppered her hair with gentle kisses. "I'm here Regina. Calm down. I'm here." But she continued to sob with choking breaths. Clearly, she was in such shock and she was having trouble breathing, unable to catch her breath. So he gently pulled away as he kept his hands on her shoulders and caressed her arms up and down to try and sooth her. "Breath, Regina, Breath." He was now trying to get her to look at him but she seemed to be enthralled by one of the buttons on his shirt, her breath still fast and irregular. "Look at me, Regina. I need you to breath."

"I—I C—C—Can't." She choked out the words between sobs as she continued to look at his chest, avoiding his eyes. _This can't be real_ , she thought. _His soul was obliterated_. _If I look up, he will be gone_.

Not being forceful, he gently cupped her cheeks and guided her head up and met her glassy eyes as tears continued to fall from them. She still was gulping for air. "Breath with me…Please. I know you're in shock but you're going to pass out. Now In…" He directed her as he took a deep breath in and she followed with a shaky inhale. "Now out." He let a whoosh of air out and she followed. "Good. Now keep doing that with me." He guided her as he leaned his forehead against hers and they continued to breath together in silence. When her breath became more even, he broke the silence, knowing they had so much to talk about. "Hey…are you feeling ok enough to get us out of here. We have a lot to talk about and I'm sure you have a lot of questions. I want to answer all of them but we should talk alone." With a nod, they disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke."

"Wow." hook said with astonishment. "This is crazy, Swan. Don't you agree?"

Emma didn't answer him but she did continue to stare at Gold who was leaning against Regina's vault with a smug grin on his face. "What was it?" she asked Gold

"What was what dearie?" He asked back, not bothering to look her way yet.

"The deal you made with him."

Now Gold turned towards her. "He came to me for help with his little situation and try to get back to his former self."

"But there's always a price with you." Emma pointed out. "What was his?"

" I told him I would help him and in return he would have to do something for me."

"And what was that?" Charming asked.

A sadistic smile came over his face before he answered. "I wanted the Evil Queen back and I asked for the Thief's help."

They all stood in silence for a moment as they took this revelation in before Henry spoke up. "But Rob really was Robin. He would never do that to Mom. She's come too far."

Rumple just stood there with his arms crossed, not acknowledging what Henry said. The rest just stood in silence, shocked by this whole situation and what Rumple just said. Snow, however, had a look of deep thought across her face, thinking about Rumple and Henry had both said. Then it was a light a light bulb went off. "You knew he wouldn't be able to do it." Snow said to rumple, in more of a statement than a question. Not uttering a word back to Snow, he just stood there with that typical rumple grin on his face. "You gave him something you knew he wouldn't be able to do and that he would fail. You basically brought them back together. You helped them. Why?" she asked Rumple as she furrowed her brow in suspicion.

"That, dearie, is none of your business." He retorted back a little gruffly before he disappeared in a bloom of his own signature maroon smoke.

Back at the mansion, Regina transported them into the safety of her living room in front of the fireplace. They arrived in the same position, on their knees with foreheads resting against one another. Regina was still shaking in shock.

"You're still shivering my love." He commented with a concerned voice as he rubbed his palms up and down her arms in order to try to sooth her, which didn't seem to be working. "Take a seat on the couch." Not knowing what else to do or what was going through her brain; she simply listened without a retort, and let him help her to get comfortable. Taking the afghan from the back of the couch, he gently draped it over her shoulders, and tried to rub her shoulders again. It seemed to help but she still seemed in shock, which wasn't all that surprising. "Let me get you some water." He left and quickly made his way into the kitchen.

She didn't bother to reply, still stone cold silent and flabbergasted that he was right in front of her. Her thief was somehow alive? She had so many questions running through her mind and she didn't know where t start. So many emotions as well—pure joy, shock, anger, annoyance, and disbelief were just a few.

"here." She heard robin say as he bent down in front of her and put the glass in her hands. _When did he get back? OMG he has been here the entire time._ "Drink this." But she didn't move right away and he was concerned at her lack of response or words. "Please." He asserted with concern and he pushed her hands holding the glass closer to her face. As she listened and drank, she took a sip and seemed to awaken a thirst in her she hadn't realized was there. She gulped the whole glass before he took it from her and placed it on the coffee table. "Let me start a fire. It's getting chilly and you're still shivering a little bit."

As he built the fire with practiced hands, she watched silently and just reveled in his presence, unsure how this was possible. After the fire flickered to life, he left again but came back with two high ball glasses with ice in them and a bottle of whiskey. She watched silently as he poured. "I think we are going to need this." He tried to joke a little and she finally adjusted her gaze to look at his face. The face she had missed so much.

As he handed her the glass, his eyes met hers and he gave her a comforting smile before he too sat on the couch. For awhile, they both just sat and sipped their drinks in silence, neither knowing where to start. The silence was deafening. Eventually, Regina let out a breath and found her voice. "So…" she croaked out.

"Yeah…" He replied staring down at the amber liquid in his glass, the familiarity of the conversation rushing back to them both as they recalled that conversation in the bar in NY those months prior. It felt like a lifetime ago.

"It was you the whole time?" It came out more of a statement. At this point, she knew the answer but needed to hear it from him. Needed verification that this all wasn't in her head or that it was.

"Yes." He answered simply, not explaining any further.

"It was all you? The Horse—Blackjack?" she began with, looking over to him now, the glow of the fire highlighting his sandy blonde hair.

He looked over to her before answering and she saw the same blue eyes she had seen all of these weeks. The butterflies and connection felt no different, for either of them. "I paid and worked to get that horse for you between Camelot and going to the Underworld. Right before we left, I had officially worked off the last of the payment. I just never had the chance to give him to you. It was pretty much as the stable manager explained to you.

"Did you always ride a motorcycle?" _Out of everything, this is the question you come up with?_ She thought to herself.

"Not I." he began shifting to angle himself more towards her. "That seemed to be what Rob did in the land of untold stories. I have to say, it is quite freeing and I rather enjoy it."

Their trip to the bar and the beach flashed through her mind. She remembered traveling along the road on the outskirts of Storybrooke to the bar and realizing they passed the diner she had told him about when he left with "Marian." "You didn't know about that bar from Yelp, did you?"

"No." He grimaced, gulping down a good portion of his drink before answering her. "That was something I ran into when we made our to New York. We stopped for food and stayed the night there. After dinner, I needed some space, so I left and somehow made my way to the beach. I was able to see the sunset and there were so many different colors. It was magnificent. It reminded me of you." Her breath hitched as he paused, gulping through the tightness in his throat. "When I was in New Yurok, there were times I missed you so much. I would travel there and somehow it made me feel closer you." He looked towards her then and gave her a sad smile. "There wasn't a day when we were a part I didn't miss you—N w or then."

Looking down at her nails, she nodded, wanting to believe him, before she asked her next question. She looked back up at him. "When you took me to see Sweeney and Johanna?"

"Rob knew Sweeney. I didn't but we shared memories. I wanted to do something special for you and I remembered, while in the underworld, you talked about cutting it again. How you thought you may have liked it shorter. I didn't care." He said lovingly as he reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear, keeping her gaze in the process. "I love your hair whether it's long or short."

She smiled as she took the hand he had left resting on her cheek into hers and left them locked together resting on the couch between them. "When we went swimming in the lagoon?"

"I rather enjoyed that one." He answered her rather cheeky to which she let his hand go and punched him the arm and yelled a "Hey" as if offended.

"What?" he retorted back as he rubbed where she punched him. "I can't help it if you look quite fetching in what does this world call those sorts of bathing clothes again?"

"A swim suit." She rolled her eyes at him. He was such a man. "If you think that's something, you should see a bikini."

"A bikini?" he questioned with a confused look on his face.

"Never mind." She cut him off, they were getting off topic. The other things they did seemed quite obvious why they did them or went along with getting the tattoo. "Roland? You pushed me to take him. Is that what you wanted?"

"He needed you, Regina. He was and is where he was supposed to be. What I wanted, you did. If I wasn't there, he needed the merry men and you. He needed the touch of a mother." Reaching out, he squeezed her hand with a watery smile.

She too had a small smile across her face with the thought of Roland but it quickly dropped knowing the next few questions were going to be loaded ones. "So that's why I always felt this pull towards you. This attraction… even though I shouldn't have. That's why I saw a flash of your face when we were dancing at the ball." She asked as she picked at her nails before looking up at him again. "Because it was really you? I wasn't going crazy?"

"You were never crazy and that's exactly right. It looks like we feel the same pull towards the one we are destined to be with, even if its our dark side."

"Why didn't you come to me? Why didn't you tell me? Of all people, why did you go to Rumpelstiltskin for help?"

"Well, if I had known all I had to do was snog you a little bit..." He joked, trying to lighten the mood. It did get her to chuckle a little bit. He scooted a little closer so they were knee to knee and he took her hand in both of his. "That answer is a bit complicated,"

"Complicated?" she repeats his words back to him, a little annoyed at his answer.

"Just hear me out alright?" Pausing a moment, he waited for her ok and she gave it with a nod of head, giving him the chance to explain. "In the beginning, I didn't get what was going on and I didn't know what to do. I wanted to stay away but just couldn't. I didn't want to cause you more pain than you were already in and I didn't know if you have believed me—so I went to Rumple for help and he made me a deal."

"Of course I would have believed you." She cut him off bluntly, annoyed that he would doubt her in the first place and ignoring what he said about Rumple for now. They would get to that later.

"Really, Regina? You wouldn't have thought that maybe I, or someone else, was playing a cruel joke on you?"

Her silence was an answer because they both knew Regina would have thought exactly that. "Then I also thought that maybe all of this was happening for a reason."

"What do you mean?" Regina asked for clarification. How could she thinking that he was obliterated happen for a reason?

"You once told me that we were soulmates." They both smiled at the memory, back when things were so simple. "I got to thinking about what that means."

"Ok." she said, urging him to continue.

"I think it's obvious it's a type of True love but I think its more and deeper than that. Thinking about everything that happened between us, I couldn't help but to think that maybe a soulmate is someone no matter what time, land, realm, or lifetime is exactly who you need them to be, whether it's a partner, lover, competitor." He laughed as he leaned in and presses his forehead to hers, remembering the alternate universe the former author had created. Even as competitors, they knew there was something thee. "Or maybe it's a best friend."

Regina smiled as she thought about what he said and remembered all the times they had met and that they had been all of things to each other. Each time, they HAD been what the other needed. "That's quite poetic."

"And I'm not done. " He smiled smugly before continuing. "I thought, for whatever reason, maybe Rob was what –or who—you needed."

"I NEEDED YOU." She yelled in exacerbation as she jumped up from the couch and went over to the fire place, leaning against the mantle, and trying to regain her composure. He waited, knowing she was going to say more. "I needed you." She said a little more calmly as she stared into the fire, a night not long after his wake flashing through her mind. "So much I even tried a locator spell. Of course it didn't work—not at that time." Sighing she paused again before continuing, her voice coming out a little gruff. "And who are you to tell me what I need. My whole life people have told me what I need. My mother, Snow, the king, Rumplestiltiskin—"

"No…" he cut her off and got up to stand next to her at the mantle. "This is coming out all wrong." He tried to explain to her as he ran his hands through his hair nervously. Then he leaned a little closer to her. "I thought that Rob could help you or show you things in a way I never could. I thought that maybe…maybe…"

"Maybe what?" she snapped, turning towards him and leaning against the mantle with her arms crossed in front of her.

"Maybe that he could show you that you could be happy with OR WITHOUT me." He put emphasis on "or without." "That's all I ever wanted for you. I wanted you to find your happiness."

"But he was you!" she stomped while throwing her hands down to her sides in frustration while her heart fluttered in her chest. Besides Henry and her father, Robin was one of the first people who genuinely wanted her to find her happiness and even putting it before his own. Then again, she did the same thing for him. She guessed that's what true love was. God her emotions were on a roller coaster. She was annoyed, angry, and relieved that he was here all at the same time.

"But you didn't know that." He stated simply, looking her in the eyes as he placed his palms on her shoulders and gently squeezed.

"I would have if you were honest with me, Robin. We could have figured it out together. What happened to doing things together?" she shot back at him.

Robin just sighed and plopped back onto the couch, covering his face and hanging his head in embarrassment. "I didn't want to see the look on your face."

"What look?" she asked, her face showing confusion.

He looked up at her before answering. "The look of disappointment in you finding out I wasn't the honorable man you thought." He began, holding up his hands to stop her when she tried to interrupt him, knowing what she was going to try and say. "I once told you I was a very different man and now you know that's the truth. I told you that you were a lot like me and that's the truth. I couldn't protect my mother. When I saw that my father had killed her, it changed something in me. I saw red. I killed my father with my own bare hands and I ran, a man wanted for treason. I lived in anger and self loathing. I selfishly stole and killed if someone got in my way. I used magic to deceive others, even little john and tuck."

"That was actually pretty smart. Using the potion to make them always know you as you look now and not as Rob." She complemented him as she walked back over and took her seat next him, taking his hands and making him turn towards her. "If anything disappointments or angers me, it's the fact you think your past changes my feelings for you at all because it doesn't. You know my past robin and it's darkness. It would make me a hypocrite to be disappointed in you. It seems we are two peas in a pod and we are much alike, more so than we thought. Maybe that's a part of being soulmates as well. But what disappoints me is you didn't have faith in me—in us. Nothing you tell me about your past will change the way I look at you or change my feelings. I believe it was YOU who told ME our future isn't written by our past."

"Using my own words against me, Milady." He sassed back at her, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"Only because you deserve it." They both chuckled before he continued. "And I will never not have faith in you Regina. I have more faith in you than you will ever know. I didn't have faith in myself. I just…" he sighed out a deep breath before continuing. "I didn't want to cause you more pain or disappointment than I already had, especially with…" he couldn't finish the sentence; bile was rising in his throat.

"Especially with what?" she inquired, not understanding what he was trying to say.

"After the ball, you shared a lot of things with Rob, well I guess me. You confessed to him a lot of the things you felt you couldn't share with me because you didn't want to hurt me or cause me further guilt."

It dawned on her that he was talking about everything that happened with Zelena impersonating Marian. She never wanted him to find out some of the things she felt. It wasn't his fault what happened. Straightening in her seat a bit, she nervously ran her hands up and down her thighs, trying to avoid his gaze. She told Rob—or him—a lot that night.

Robin stopped her fidgeting hands with a squeeze of his own, causing her to look back up at him with hesitation. "I want us to be able to talk about anything. I know that sounds weird coming out now but I mean it. I want us to talk about anything with each other, whether it's the good or the BAD. You spent your whole life suppressing your feelings. I don't want that to happen with us. I want you to share whatever you're feeling with me." With a sniff, she nodded in agreement, causing him to continue on. "When you brought us back from New York, you choose to give us another chance and I will forever be grateful for that but we never talked about what happened. We avoided it for whatever reason, whether it be because you didn't want to cause me further pain or maybe we wanted to pretend it never happened." He waited then, throwing the ball in her court.

It took her a moment, not really knowing where to begin, but it just came out. "I've always been the second choice." She whispered, knowing she had said those same words to Rob that night and it caused Robin to squeeze her hands, urging her to continue. He wanted her to be completely open with him and he wanted to be with her. They both have held things back now and there would be no more of that. "Second daughter, it turned out, second wife, second mother. It felt like you only chose to come back and be with me was because Marian wasn't really Marian. Especially when you said you were with her and that was the new reality." Her voice was weary now with tears threatening to fall. She felt guilty even saying this.

"Oh Regina…" he said softly as he reached and locked their hands together again. "That couldn't be the furthest thing from the truth. "First off, looking back, there was no choice because you were the only one. I had already fallen in love with you by the time Emma brought "Her" back. It took me too long to realize I needed to follow my heart but I Meant what I said on the park bench that day. "I chose you and I will always choose you." He smiled brightly at her as he wiped away the lone tear slide down her cheek. He didn't know if it was a happy or sad one but he continued, knowing she was listening, even if she wasn't looking at him. This was painful but he needed to quell her fears. "The moment Zelena had me cross that line, my choice was taken away from me. I am sure if it was actually Marian that had come back that would have never happened. New York was never a reality; it was all manipulation and deception."

Regina slowly raised her gaze from their clenched hands to his face. "I never blamed you for any of it."

"I know Regina but that doesn't mean it didn't hurt you to hear that I had moved on…well…tried to move on." He could tell she was going to try and cut in and say it was what any honorable man would have done but he held his palm up to stop her. "I say tried because that's the truth. I tried to move on but no matter what I did, I could never get you out of my mind. Even my dreams were plagued with you. Even on the days where I would think about 99 times instead of 100, there you were in my dreams."

She smiled at that one and he leaned his forehead against hers then rubbed their noses together. "My feelings for you never stopped."

"Really?" she asked a little hesitantly.

"Really." He reassured her. "But I felt stuck. Zelena and Rumple manipulated me, deceived me, and played on my guilt."

"Rumple?" she questioned with a confused face. "How was he involved. I know he ran into to you but…'

"it was after he was out of the hospital and I brought him some of Neal's things. He said something like not appreciating what was right in front of me and if I knew what my happy ending was I should chase after it and never let it go." He sighed massaging his temples a second before continuing. "Looking back on it now, I realized what a manipulation it was because from what you told me, he had already made an alliance with Zelena. It makes me disappointed in myself."

"Rumple is a right bastard. You shouldn't feel disappointed in yourself because of him."

"But I do. When he said those words to me, I instantly thought of you, not Marian. But I thought you were lost to me for good. But even when I made what I thought was the honorable choice to try and make It work with Marian, something never felt right and now I understand why. It was never her and I hate myself that I couldn't tell but I still decided to follow a code instead of my instincts and I promised never to do that again because in doing that I hurt one of the people I care about most."

Regina smiled softly at his words before she let out a deep, tired sigh. "I don't blame you Robin. I never have."

"I wouldn't blame you if you did." He tried to comfort her.

"But I don't. Your honor was used against you and you were deceived and manipulated. I'm sorry for that. You were hurt because someone wanted to hurt me." She then got up and started to pace back a forth before stopping and fidgeting with her fingers, a little nervous with her next question. "What do your instincts tell you now." Now she looked up and their eyes met as he stood, made his way over to her, and took her hands in his.

"What happened wasn't your fault. It was Zelena's." He explained back to her. "And my instincts tell me to love you in the way you deserve and never let you go again." Regina's heart seemed to stop for a second upon his words and her eyes went wide in surprise as he continued. "I've wanted to tell you this for so long now but never wanted to in all the chaos."

"Robin…" she tried to interrupt him but he cut her off with his forefinger over her lips, causing her to just look up at him. "I love you, Regina Mills, every piece of you and who you are. I love you for your darkness and your light. I love you for the hero and villain inside of you. I love you for your strength and your weakness. I love you for your sass and the gentle heart you pretend you don't have. I love you for your resilience and when you feel like you don't want to go on. I love you because you love not only with your heart but with your whole soul." His hands then cupped her cheeks and he wiped away the tears that had begun to fall. "I love you, Regina Mills, all of you—my soul mate, my true love, my partner, my lover, my competitor, and my best friend."

Her eyes flickered back in forth as they gazed at one another, Robin having the most gently smile on his face. He patiently waited for a response. "I—I—I…" She wanted to respond and say those words back to him but her throat tightened and the words became stuck. God damn it, she thought. When she thought he was gone, all she wanted to do was tell him and now that he was here, the words wouldn't come out. But she did love him—so much but now she was afraid of losing him all over again because her love seemed to be a death sentence.

Robin saw the war going on inside her eyes and decided to quell her fears. "It's ok, Regina." He took her in his arms and they stood for awhile, encased in a tight embrace and reveling in it.

"I'm sorry." She whispered feeling guilty.

"it's ok." He kissed her head in comfort as he rubbed her back. "I know you love me and you'll tell me when you're ready."

They pulled back from their embrace. Not knowing what else to do, she just nodded her head as she wiped away tracks the tears had left.

"It's late." He informed her as he looked at the clock over the mantle. It was bordering on 11 PM. They had been talking all evening. "Why don't we get some sleep and we can start to figure things out tomorrow.

Nodding in agreement, she let go of his hand and made her way to the hallway where the stairs led upstairs. He was right behind her but she turned abruptly before they ascended the staircase. "Would you mind sleeping in the guest room?" She started a little nervously before babbling on. "This is all a lot to take in and I'm still in shock—my emotions are on a roller coaster. I feel like I could use some time alone…to process everything"

He stopped her by putting his hands on her shoulders and catching her gaze. "It's fine. Don't worry about it. I know this is all overwhelming so I'll see you in the morning." He then kissed her on the cheek and watched as she made her way up the stairs, pausing to give him a tight smile before continuing to climb again. He followed her and went to the same room Rob, or him, would stay when he slept here a couple of nights.

After she was in her room, she quickly changed into her favorite silk, blue pajamas and zipped up Robin's hoodie over it before slipping under the covers. She wriggled to get comfortable but for the next half an hour, she tossed and turned unable to fall asleep.

Robin lay in bed, having stripped down to his boxer's and t shirt to try and get some sleep but it evaded him as well. He lay on his back, hands behind his head, and he started up at the ceiling, hoping that everything would work out for this. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the soft padding of feet in the hallway and then the door squeaked open, revealing a sleepless Regina. "Can't sleep?" he asked.

She sniffed and crossed her arms in front of her giving him a watery, "no."

"Me too." He agreed with her as he sat up."I see you stole my hoodie, thief." He tried to joke. "It looks better on you, anyways."

"Don't tease me, Robin." She shifted a little, wrapping the hoodie more tightly around her.

"I'm sorry Milady." He apologized, not wanting to upset her. "Just trying to lighten the mood. Something's troubling you. What is it?"

Looking up from staring at the carpet, she met his worried gaze with glassy eyes. "I can't sleep because there's something I forgot to say."

"What is it?" His heart stopped, not knowing what she was going to say. Maybe that she hated him?

There was a quiver in her voice as she answered him. "I forgot to say how wonderful it is that you're back and it's all I ever wished for. It's a miracle."

Robin smiled and turned down the comforter as an invite for her to join him if she wished. So she padded over and crawled on the bed but she didn't go to lay next to him, she went over to him, straddled his lap, and clutched him a vice grip hug. She cried into his neck as he rubbed his palm up and down her back in a soothing manner. "it's ok, Regina. I'm here, with you, always. No matter what."

"How is this possible? It shouldn't be possible." she murmured into his neck before he pulled back a little in order to look at her, wiping away her tears in the process. "Well, you already heard the magic involved from earlier but I think it's more than that."

"What?" she asked curiously, urging him to go on as she wrapped her hands around his wrists and rubbed her thumbs against them.

"I don't think it was our fate." He explained to her as she gave him a curious tilt of her head, needing further explanation. "I don't think our story was supposed to end that way."

"What way is it supposed to end then?"

"Growing old together…watching our children grow up…just living a life and building a family together. Having old people sex." He joked causing her to laugh a little. God how he loved that sound. "I also think it could be just plain dumb luck."

"Luck." She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "That's a joke. Luck has never been on my side. It would be a first for me."

"Maybe this time it was." He said with hope and love in his eyes.

"It just doesn't seem possible that you're here." She explained as she looked down and fiddled with his under shirt. "So much so, I wonder if…" she trailed off, afraid to say the words.

"If what?" he questioned as he squeezed her waist.

"That it's all a cruel joke or someone is trying to play a cruel trick."

Taking a moment to think, he didn't respond right away, not understanding what she meant at first. But then it hit him and he gasped a breath. "You're afraid this isn't real. That someone is using a glamour spell and pretending to be me?"

"It wouldn't be the first time someone tried to trick me." She answered him, referring to not only Zelena, but her mother using the sheriff of Nottingham to impersonate her soul mate.

He knew what she meant and understood her fears. With his right hand, he slid her hair behind her ear and then cupped the side of her head, his tattoo coming into his eye line. She began running her hand over it. This gave him an idea. He pulled back and showed her his forearm. "You once told me the story of how your mother used…the sheriff." He spat on the words as he said them. He really hated that guy and would gladly punch him again. "To pretend to be me and it didn't take you long to realize he was a fraud. You revealed him by turning his fake tattoo into a magical lion that chomped at his neck—nice move by the way." She laughed and, yes, she was quite proud of herself on that one. "Well why don't you try the same thing now? If it's a fake, you'll be able to do the same thing, right?"

"Yes." She whispered before taking his forearm and cupping it underneath with her left hand as she traced over his tattoo with her right. She looked up at him and he nodded for her to continue, knowing there would be no little lion threatening to bite his carotid. So she called forth her magic and watched as it traveled to his tattoo. No lion appeared but his tattoo glowed the most beautiful pixie dust green she had ever seen. A bright smile shined from her face as she too was shrouded in the green light before she let go and it receded. "It's really you." She choked out.

"Yes, My love, it's really me." He responded as they embraced again in a crushing hug. "I'm right here."

For awhile, they just held each other wordlessly and basked in the fact that this was all real. The events of the day were real and so was he. They pulled back from their embrace and Robin went in to kiss her but she quickly receded from him. "What's wrong? Why won't you let me kiss you?'

"You know of the dreams and nightmares I had." He wordlessly nodded, wanting her to continue. "When it would storm, I would have nightmares. Mostly, they were me reliving what happened." She licked her dry lips nervously before continuing, taking a moment to center herself. "Or sometimes you dying in a whole new way, but most nights I would have these beautiful heartbreaking dreams of us. Most of the time, we were just reveling in being together or sometimes we would be with our friends and children. Sometimes…" she hesitated, getting a little emotional again in anticipation for what she was going to say.

"Sometimes what? Tell me regina, its ok." he urged her to continue.

"Sometimes it would be Henry, Roland, and little Robyn but other times there would be another little girl there, our little girl, with bright light blue eyes, dark hair, pale skin, and dimples that matched Robyn's and Roland's. In the end, I always knew those weren't real because us having a child together isn't possible."

"You sure about that?" Robin cut her off and she looked at him with a grim expression on her face.

"You know the potion I took years ago and that it's not possible, Robin."

"Really? You sure about that?" he repeated and he could tell she was getting annoyed now. But it was painful for her and she felt guilt over what she did. "I'm not so sure about that?"

"What makes you say that?" Her grim expression turned to an quizzical one, not sure what he was trying to say.

"The dreams I had while in New York. Most of the times, they had our children in them, but there was always two little girls in them. One was little Robyn but the other was exactly who you just described, our daughter.

Her mouth gaped open in shock. They dreamt about the same little girl? They shared dreams? How is that possible?

He spoke, taking her out of her own thoughts. "I'm not an expert in magic but I think you're forgetting the number one rule of magic, my love. One you know all too well."

"Please feel free to remind me." She sassed at him in sarcasm.

"All curses can be broken." He said with hope and light in his eyes.

"But this was a potion, not a curse." She explained the difference to him.

"Really?" he said with a raise of his eyebrows. "Tell me, what was the name of this potion you used?"

"The curse of the barren." She mumbled so that he couldn't understand.

"What?" he said playfully as he held up his hand to his ear as if to hear her better. "Didn't quite make that out."

"The curse of the barren." She spat out, a little annoyed.

"hmmm. I see." he said smugly. "the curse..."

"shut up." She adjusted herself a little bit in his lap

"I'm just saying it may be possible to reverse it, we just have to figure out how because if there's one thing I know, I'd love to have a baby with you."

"You want to have a baby with me?" she asked looking at him in somewhat disbelief.

"Nothing would make me happier." He smiled as he cupped her cheek and rubbed his thumb against it reverently.

"But what if there's no way to reverse it? It's been a long time." She had to state the obvious.

"Then I'm quite content being with you and our other children. My love for you isn't contingent on how many children you can give me. You're enough for me, Regina Mills." That warmed her heart. She never felt like she was enough for anyone. Everyone else's love had been conditional at one point or another. "Or we could adopt too."

"You'd adopt?" she asked, a little shocked by this revelation.

"Giving a child who needs a home and family one together, of course."

She smiled gently, touched by his words and brought him into a tight embrace again. He rested his chin over shoulder as he caressed her clothed covered back. "How did the dreams end? How would you wake up?" he asked, breaking the contented silence. She pulled back then and answered him. "They would always end the same way. We would be happy and together then you would go in to kiss me. Right before our lips met, I would wake up…alone."

That broke his heart and it dawned on him why she pulled back. "You're afraid that this is another dream and if I kiss you, you'll wake up." She nodded, a little ashamed. "This is very real, Regina. My tattoo showed that and maybe this will too. Tell me, does this feel real?" He gently took her hand in his and pecked the back of it then went to kiss the other. "Does this feel real?" he asked right before kissing it.

"Yes." She squeaked out at the contact.

"Does this?" he went and placed an open mouth kiss on her neck. She let out a contented sigh in answer. "How about this one?" He placed a similar kiss on the opposite side of her neck, to which he got a shaky yes to. "This one." He teased as he kissed her chin and then went to her forehead. "Did that feel real?" He then kissed each cheek, asking her if that felt real. She felt everyone of them. "Now tell me if this one feel's real." His hands cupped behind her head and he watched as their lips got closer. Right before they met, he closed his eyes and gently brushed his lips over hers before pulling back, watching as her eyes opened to meet hers. "See…Real and I'm still here." he pointed out with that smug grin of his. "We are still here. No dream. I'm real. THIS is real." He nuzzled his nose against hers.

That was all the confirmation she needed before she dove back in for a more passionate and not so hesitant kiss. They kissed and kissed, trying to make up for lost time. Lips parted, mouths smacked, and tongues caressed until they couldn't breath anymore and their need for oxygen caused them to break apart, smiling like two idiots at each other.

They stayed in contented silence for awhile, reveling in each other and sharing loving kisses. But Regina had one last question and her curiosity got the better of her, breaking the moment. "What was the deal?"

She had to ask, he thought but he said he would answer all of her questions. "Promise me, you won't get mad. I felt stuck and like I had no other choice." He scrunched his eyes shut in anticipation.

"I can't promise that." She answered him. "Just tell me."

"I was desperate to get back to you and the kids." He started, avoiding giving her a complete answer."

"Robin…" she scolded.

"Looking back on it now, I knew from the beginning I couldn't do it."

"Robin!" she said a little more boldly now, getting his attention and causing him to jump and open her eyes. "Just tell me!"

He sighed before he answered, looking up at her. "Rumple said he would help me if I helped you to find your darkness again. He wanted the Evil Queen back. For what purpose, I don't know"

"typical Rumple." She scoffed out, almost amused.

"What?" Robin asked, a little thrown she didn't seem to be more angry.

"He likes to pit people against one another. He wanted me to do the same thing with Emma and if I didn't, he was going to go after you. What was his threat to you?"

"Exactly what he did today. He was going to go after you and reveal everything. I didn't know how you would react." He looked a little nervous as to what she was going to say in return. "I took the deal before I knew what his payment was but I couldn't do it. I couldn't hurt you and you have come too far."

"That's what Rumple does, he manipulates things to go his way." She said as she crossed her arms around his neck.

"You don't seem mad?" Robin had to ask in order to make sure. Honestly, he was surprised.

"Am I mad that you didn't come to me, Yes. But it's not like you actually went through with it and it seemed to work out anyways."

He leaned his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry." He whispered to her. "Like I said, had I known all I had to do was snog you properly to fix this, well that wouldn't have been an issue."

" Not an issue? Well, why don't you make up for it now…" she bumped her nose with his as she teased him in a playful manner. Game on, he thought, before he not so gracefully flipped her onto her back against the pillows, hovered over her, and began to "snog" her properly with wide smiles on their faces. They continued to kiss, losing track of time, until they needed breathe, and Robin pulled back and gave her an Eskimo kiss. Then he leaned back but kept their limbs tangled together, propping himself up on elbow that laid on the pillow.

"Where do we go from here?" Regina asked, looking over to him.

"Well, I think now we will go to sleep and after we wake up together tomorrow, I'll make that breakfast I promised long ago." She smiled at that one as she caressed his arm up and down, continuing to do so as he went on. "Then I'd like to go see little Robyn and then, from there, go see my men and Roland. If that's ok?" he asked as he bent down and pecked her lips.

" I think that can all be arranged." She yawned.

"Good now lets get some sleep." He urged as he pulled the covers over both of them and they snuggled into each other. As they lay clutched to each other, he heard Regina take an inhale of breath and then a moan came out like "mmmmmm." "what?" Robin asked kissing her forehead.

"You smell like you and I missed that. I would wear this sweatshirt or use your cape as blanket and they never lost your smell but…"

"But what?" he asked pulling back a little to look at her properly.

"You smell like you, but different?"

"Different?" he said a little confused. "Different how? Bad different?"

"Not bad different. Now it's forest but with a hint of leather."

He thought a moment and there was only one thing that made sense. "Maybe that's my other half?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking up with sleepy eyes.

"When you were separated, the Queen smelled like cinnamon to me and you smelled like apples. Now I smell both."

It seemed to hit her what he meant now. "And now you smell like forest and leather because you're rejoined with your other half." He nodded in response to her answer. "well…I like it." She beamed as she drew him in for a short, no less passionate, kiss and then sunk back into her pillow.

"Sleep, my love. I'm here." He said as he too lay down on his pillow, head close to hers.

"You'll be here when I wake up?" She had to make sure.

"I'll be here when you wake up…Always."

AN: Now I'm holding my proverbial breath, waiting to hear what you guys think. I hope it lived up to expectations. Review and you may just get a sneak peek for the next chapter, which I don't know when will be done as I'll be out of town starting next Saturday for the holiday.


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